Volunteers are at the heart of running aquatics clubs across our region. The nature of these roles can put clubs at increased risk of a common type of phishing attack.

This includes the treasurer of a club receiving a series of emails that purport to be from the chairman or another committee member urgently asking them to transfer money into an account. These fraudulent emails can look very convincing, and therefore the subsequent loss of such a large sum of money can be devastating to the club.

A whaling attack is a new form of phishing in that it targets one ‘big fish’ organisation as opposed to many smaller consumers and is a highly profitable scam. In recent months several sports organisations, including small clubs and national governing bodies, have found themselves the victim of such an attack.

The Swim England insurers Perkins Slade have been approached by a number of clubs who have fallen prey to these types of attacks. Details and advice on how to protect your club can be found at

http://www.asa.ps-websites.co.uk/news/story/would-your-club-survive-a-whaling-attack

The Swim England Insurance Centre provides information on the levels of cover provided to clubs, their staff, volunteers and members, provides answers to questions they may have along with information on risk management and latest news relating to insurance.

Further information can be found: http://www.asa.ps-websites.co.uk

If you have any concerns regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact your Regional Club Coordinator.