{"id":7181,"date":"2024-06-17T14:56:58","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T18:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saparish.com\/church\/?p=7181"},"modified":"2024-06-17T14:56:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T18:56:59","slug":"scammers-pose-as-priests-in-texts-email-ask-parishioners-for-gift-cards-cash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saparish.com\/church\/news\/scammers-pose-as-priests-in-texts-email-ask-parishioners-for-gift-cards-cash\/","title":{"rendered":"Scammers pose as priests in texts\/email, ask parishioners for gift cards, cash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Have you received text messages, emails, or messages through Facebook Messenger from someone claiming to be Father Tony and asking for money or gift cards, indicating it\u2019s an emergency? Don\u2019t give. It\u2019s not your pastor. It\u2019s a scam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Information below is a statement from the Diocese of Grand Rapids:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Many parishioners of the Diocese of Grand Rapids have been targeted by these fraudsters and it\u2019s not just happening in West Michigan. The Diocese of Austin, Texas; the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the Archdiocese of Miami, Florida and others also have reported the scam&nbsp;and the Texas attorney general issued a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/news\/releases\/consumer-alert-scammers-impersonating-pastors-solicit-gift-cards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">consumer alert<\/a>&nbsp;about it. The alert indicates that the scammers are probably using information found on church websites or in online parish bulletins to trick parish members into parting with their cash.&nbsp;Fraudsters using Facebook messenger have even gone so far as to include a priest\u2019s profile picture, captured from Facebook or another online source, to make their correspondence appear more authentic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiarch.org\/CatholicDiocese.php?op=Article_text-scam-gift-cards-miami\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Archdiocese of Miami reports<\/a>, \u201cThis scam is probably a variation on others: texts and robocalls purportedly from the IRS threatening the recipient with jail time and fines for not paying back taxes, or from utilities threatening to cut off electricity or phone service for non-payment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Don\u2019t fall for it! Here\u2019s what to know and do:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First, your pastor or associate pastor will never contact a parishioner directly with an emergency request for cash or gift cards. Messages asking parishioners to help fulfill a need would come through the parish\u2019s or the diocese\u2019s official communication channels or be accomplished through a collection approved by the diocese. If you\u2019re not sure about a text or email you\u2019ve received, do not engage or respond and call your parish office right away to notify a staff member. In addition, please note that neither your parish nor the diocese will ever sell or give away parishioners\u2019 personal information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Often times with text messages, a scam can be identified by looking at the phone number. If the area code is not local, it\u2019s likely a scam.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are contacted by a scammer, report it to your <a href=\"https:\/\/saparish.com\/church\/staff\/ben-novitsky\">parish<\/a> or the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/grdiocese.org\/contacts\/#communications_contacts\">diocese<\/a>. If you can, capture screen shots of the correspondence on your phone or laptop and email those to the parish or the diocese. A member of the parish or diocesan staff can then notify the pastor\/associate pastor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>File a report through the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov\/Information#crnt&amp;panel1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Complaint Assistant<\/a>\u00a0which helps the FTC detect patterns of fraud and abuse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you suspect that your Facebook account has been hacked,\u00a0CBS News offers these\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/how-to-tell-if-your-facebook-has-been-hacked-and-what-you-can-do\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tips on how to tell if your account\u2019s been hacked and what to do about it<\/a>,\u00a0and Facebook offers these action steps for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/1216349518398524\/?helpref=hc_fnav\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hacked and fake accounts<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other resources for reporting fraud and scams<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/reportlinks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to report things on Facebook<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/scams-and-safety\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scams and Safety<\/a>&nbsp;(FBI)<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/msp\/0,4643,7-123-72297_41992_72431---,00.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Michigan State Police Fraud Investigation Section<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5 Signs of a Scam (from the Texas Attorney General\u2019s Office)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>If you spot any of these tactics, stop and walk away. You\u2019re probably being scammed.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>They contacted you<br><\/strong>When you contact a business, you know who\u2019s on the other end of the line. But when someone contacts you first, you can\u2019t be certain they\u2019re telling the truth. You don\u2019t know if they are whom they say they are. And remember, email addresses and caller ID information can be faked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>They dangle bait\u2014usually money<br><\/strong>Let\u2019s face it: People simply don\u2019t give away large sums of money easily. If someone dangles bait in front of you\u2014a big prize, a shopping spree, an easy loan \u2014 for nothing, they\u2019re probably lying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>They want your personal information<br><\/strong>Anytime anyone asks for your personal information \u2014 bank accounts, social security number, etc. \u2014 you should be on alert. Don\u2019t give it away quickly or easily, especially to someone you don\u2019t know. You may become a victim of identity theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You have to pay them first<br><\/strong>If someone offers you a prize, debt relief, or employment \u2014 but first you have to pay an upfront fee to get it \u2014you\u2019re probably being scammed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You have to wire money or send gift cards<br><\/strong>If you\u2019re about to wire money or send gift cards to someone in order to receive a prize, or pay off a debt collector that contacts you \u2026 STOP! This may be a scammer trying to take your money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional resources<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncronline.org\/news\/people\/scammers-pose-pastors-email-ask-faithful-buy-gift-cards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scammers pose as pastors in email, ask faithful to buy gift cards<\/a>&nbsp;(National Catholic Reporter, May 2019)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you received text messages, emails, or messages through Facebook Messenger from someone claiming to be Father Tony and asking for money or gift cards, indicating it\u2019s an emergency? Don\u2019t give. It\u2019s not your pastor. It\u2019s a scam. Information below is a statement from the Diocese of Grand Rapids: Many parishioners of the Diocese of&#8230;<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/saparish.com\/church\/news\/scammers-pose-as-priests-in-texts-email-ask-parishioners-for-gift-cards-cash\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":7183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Scammers pose as priests in texts\/email, ask parishioners for gift cards, cash - St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/saparish.com\/church\/news\/scammers-pose-as-priests-in-texts-email-ask-parishioners-for-gift-cards-cash\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scammers pose as priests in texts\/email, ask parishioners for gift cards, cash - St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you received text messages, emails, or messages through Facebook Messenger from someone claiming to be Father Tony and asking for money or gift cards, indicating it\u2019s an emergency? 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