Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie is not looking to get gift cards nor attention, and he isn't in need of money.
Mayor Brodie started warning people this week to be wary of any suspicious emails that appear to be sent out in his name to ask for urgent attention.
"It appears ‘spoofing’ of some city emails, including Mayor Brodie's, occurred earlier this week. Some contacts had their name linked to a non-Richmond email address, in this case a Russian domain, with a request to solicit funds, gift cards or other unusual requests," said city spokesperson Clay Adams.
"Neither council or the city would request people to send money, purchase gift cards, or make other forms of payment via email."
Luckily, the situation was quickly identified and shut down by the City of Richmond's IT department, and there is no indication that anyone fell victim to the scam, said Adams.
"It serves as a reminder to everyone to always check where an email comes from before opening it and never click on embedded links or attached documents without verifying the source of the email," Adams added.
