MS Society email accounts which haven’t been used for over two years have been suspended to protect the MS Society’s data. Accounts which are not regularly used open us to a security risk.
What should I do if I can’t access my MS Society email account?
If you’re unable to access your MS Society email account because you can't remember your password, or it has expired, you can either change it yourself (if you’ve already registered with the password self-reset service) or contact the Volunteer Support Team (0300 500 8084 #3 or [email protected] for help.
If you have an up-to-date password but still can't access your account, please contact the Volunteer Support Team so that we can check whether your account has been deactivated, and reactivate it for you. This is especially important if you’re a Finance Volunteer or Group Coordinator, as you’ll need to use your MS Society email account to complete the financial Year End process.
If you’re emailing a volunteer who hasn’t used their MS Society email account for over two years, you’ll probably get an automatic 'bounce back' message saying that the message is undeliverable to that account. This may occur even if you’re using an individual's private email address, as the MSS email address is linked to the individual's private address. Where this happens, the individual will still be able to read the message via their personal email address where this has been used.
Protecting MS Society email accounts
The threat posed to us and other organisations from hacking incidents and ‘phishing’ campaigns has increased enormously in the past couple of years. Organisations similar to ours have been subject to attacks which have exposed thousands of people’s sensitive data to criminals.
Like all organisations, the MS Society regularly receives hacking attempts. It’s therefore essential that we take some simple steps to reduce the risk of criminals accessing the personal data we hold on people's behalf. We’ll be introducing an extra layer of security to MS Society email accounts early next year, called Multi Factor Authentication (MFA). This is a way of ensuring that the individual accessing information is who they say they are, which significantly reduces the risk of a criminal accessing data. We’ll share more information about this in January.
We’ll also shortly be asking all volunteers whose role involves working with personal data in any way to refresh their training in Keeping Data Safe. Volunteers will need to complete this in order to have continued access to MS Society systems. The e-learning will help you to look after data safely - not just for the MS Society, but wherever you are, and whoever’s personal information you’re entrusted with.
