Knicks Staff Clicked Fake Ring Email

Madison Square Garden employees who clicked a link in a fake championship ring email are now required to attend a mandatory cybersecurity class. The New York Times reported on Thursday that the New York Knicks organization sent the simulated message to staff in late September to test how well employees could identify scams.

The email subject line read, "Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here." It instructed recipients to click a link to select between two ring designs. According to team sources, staff members who interacted with the link were flagged for the additional training. The initiative is part of owner James Dolan's effort to address growing concerns about digital security across his organizations, which include the Knicks, the New York Rangers, and the arena itself.

Phishing drills are standard practice at large companies to identify employees who miss warning signs in suspicious messages. These tests often mimic internal communications but include subtle errors. For instance, Ars Technica's parent company, Condé Nast, uses a misspelled domain, "condenest.com," in its own test emails. It remains unclear if the Knicks' message contained similar obvious red flags, though the offer was plausible enough to catch attention.

Senior NBA writer Joe Vardon of The Athletic noted that most NBA team employees do receive championship rings, even if their versions are less expensive than those awarded to players. This context made the fake offer less far-fetched. The timing added to the potential for confusion, as the Knicks recently won their first NBA title in more than 50 years. Staff members might have viewed the message as a delayed celebration of that milestone.

The phishing test occurred shortly before a separate ring-related event. On Tuesday, the Knicks raised their first league championship banner since 1973. During the ceremony, assistant coaches received boxes that contained no rings. The team expects to distribute those rings to the coaches at a later date.