On Wednesday, Hawaii public school employees received spam emails through the Hawaii Department of Education’s Lotus Notes email system.
They were sent by a mainland organization determined to weaken your rights, your voice, and your ability to increase school funding while fighting for better wages, benefits and working conditions.
This email violated DOE policy and your privacy.
HSTA immediately notified the DOE, which is taking steps to block future illegal spam campaigns.
Don't click on links in illegal spam messages sent to your email
If you receive emails from senders you don't recognize or have not subscribed to, know that they don't have your best interests at heart.
In some cases, email attacks can look normal and may even appear to come from a sender you know and trust.
If you suspect an email is spam, close it immediately without clicking on any links. There are times when any action you take, no matter how well-intentioned, can lead you down a spam "rabbit hole."
For example, clicking on a link tells the attacker that your email address is active and could lead to even more unwanted emails.
In this case, members have told us the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email leads to a page that asks for a personal email address. Don't fall for it! Submitting your personal email address can be construed as a legitimate subscription that allows the organization to spam your account. They will also be able to track your social media accounts and any sites that use your email address.
Just remember: You shouldn't have to unsubscribe to a dubious email blast you never signed up for.
What you should do instead
Report spam to the Federal Trade Commission by forwarding the entire email, including the header, to spam@uce.gov.
The FTC stores the emails in a database where they can be used as evidence should the FTC pursue legal action under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
Be sure to mark the email as spam through your email provider, or move the email to your junk folder. If you do not have these options, the safest action is to simply delete the email.
Never forget, we are stronger together
In this new era, these attacks will become common. If any of your colleagues approach you with questions, please remind them of all the reasons why we need to stay together.
Download a list of accomplishments and priorities we stand for here.
HSTA has always been committed to and continues to fight for increased teacher pay and school funding, and policies that support our students and teachers.
We are stronger together and must remain as one ohana and as one union.
Who's behind these unethical emails?
The Freedom Foundation is a mainland-based, billionaire-backed anti-union think tank working to keep wages low, eliminate paid sick leave and slash critical funding for education.
It belongs to a coalition that has cut pension and health insurance funds for public workers across the country. Similar tactics in Wisconsin left state employees with an 18.7-percent decrease in benefits.
Visit the Northwest Accountability Project for more information about the Freedom Foundation's hostile motives and deceptive tactics.
Thank you for your commitment to Hawaii’s children and for being a part of HSTA.