The phishing emails may:

• Appear to come from a well-known name or organisation
• Contain personal information (such as name or involvement)
• Asking to log in, make a payment or share data

An example is the e-mail sent last Tuesday from the account of Energiek Alphen chairman Erik de Ruijter. We immediately took action to find out the cause. There may be a connection to the cyber attack on Odido, which recently captured data of millions of Dutch citizens. Much has been published in the media about this. This also involved two mailboxes of Energiek Alphen and a mailbox of Zon op Alphen.

Naturally, we have taken measures to prevent a recurrence, such as changing passwords. The investigation also found that Energiek Alphen has its own security measures in place.

We ask members, volunteers and relations to be extra alert when they receive e-mails from Energiek Alphen aan den Rijn and Zon op Alphen. Please pay attention to the following points:

• Always check the sender's e-mail address (not just the name)
• Don't just click on links or open unexpected attachments
• Never share passwords or personal data via e-mail
• In doubt? Then contact us

Do you receive a message that does not feel familiar, even if it seems to come from us? If so, contact us first before taking action. Please use this form.

What else we do

After the first reports of the phishing emails, we immediately took action to find the cause and took measures to prevent a recurrence. We have taken additional security measures and continue to monitor the situation. We take this situation very seriously and will report it to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP).