Please Be Aware
Clashes broke out in the Borough Park area of NYC on Tuesday evening after pro-Palestinian protesters “descended” on one of the heaviest Jewish-populated areas in the US. City leaders described the pro-Palestinian group’s actions as antisemitic, adding that they were looking to incite violence and fear. See below article for more information.
For awareness, the Better Business Bureau is warning about IRS text message scams. Please know that the IRS will never text you. See below article for more information.
So far in 2025, we have logged 45 incidents in our Virtual Command Center. This compares to 36 for 2024. We continue to collaborate closely with law enforcement to monitor potential threat activity. Please continue to report any suspicious incidents via the Incident Report Form.
Security Matters in the News This Week
- Swastika spray-painted outside Jewish Community Services Building in Yonkers (longisland.news12.com)
- Brawls break out surrounding pro-Palestinian protest in heavily Jewish neighborhood of Borough Park (www.jta.org)
- Stimulus Check 2025: BBB sounds alarm on IRS impersonation scams– Here’s how to identify fake messages and protect your personal information from phishing attacks (www.msn.com)
- Utah man accused of threatening to shoot up NYC synagogues arrested entering Lincoln Tunnel (nypost.com)
- How to Spot and Avoid Publishers Clearing House Scams (www.security.org)
- Swastika spray-painted on Westmount synagogue: Montreal police investigating (montreal.citynews.ca)
BluePoint Status
BluePoint installations are now complete at Kollel, Aleph, Shaare Torah and NCJW. Testing to take place next week. Upstreet installation is scheduled to begin next week. 26 of our organizations are online with BluePoint, with seven more coming online by April 1, 2025. Police boxes have all been installed at 16 of our organizations.
Our BluePoint training video and refresher video are available on YouTube. These are useful for new staff or as a reminder for existing staff.
Security Resources and/or Training
Navigating Digital Threats: Strategies to Prevent Online Child Exploitation
Ahead of the next school year, please join the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse for a virtual training on preventing and responding to online child exploitation in K-12 communities. This session will feature a panel discussion with experts from the U.S. Department of Justice and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who will share valuable tools and resources to combat online child exploitation and educate teachers, students and families.
Guardian Training
Please contact Erin Fagan at [email protected] or 412-992-5252 to schedule this training.
Situational Awareness, Active Threat, and De-Escalation Training
If you or your organization have not yet had these training modules, please contact Erin Fagan at [email protected] or 412-992-5252. All can be made available in person or via Zoom.
Request Training for Your Organization →
If you need Go Bags, Emergency Safety Procedures Flip Charts or medical supplies contact Erin Fagan at [email protected] or 412-992-5252.
