As Jesus advised his disciples, “Be innocent as doves but wise as serpents.”Mt 10:16
Please be advised that at least four parishioners have reported that they received fraudulent text messages from someone claiming to be “Father Jim.” This is part of a nationwide scam in which con artists impersonate priests or clergy with the intent to confuse, manipulate, and steal. The criminals send emails and texts to church members asking them to buy gift cards for fake charitable causes or for a friend of the priest.
The scammers ask recipients to respond to what appears to be an urgent message from the pastor. In some cases, the person identifies himself as Father Jim and claims that he is in a prayer meeting or in the hospital with a friend, and asks if the recipient can do him a favor. Sometimes, the scammers insist that the purchaser will be reimbursed. They then would require the victim to reveal the digital access codes on the gift cards, allowing cyber-criminals to sell the cards online or on the street. As far as we are aware, no one has fallen for the scam in our parish. These incidents have been reported to the FTC and to the Elkton Police Department. However, tracking down this type of fraud is very difficult, so caution and prevention is our best defense.
None of our clergy or staff would ever abuse a parishioner's resources in this manner. We will never send “emergency” or “urgent” texts or emails requesting gift cards or other monetary requests.
If you have any further information, or if you suspect you have received a fraudulent email/text message, please call the Elkton Police Department at 410-398-2222 to file a police report, and report it to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
Tips you can use to avoid being a victim:
- If you receive a questionable text, do not reply and do not purchase anything or provide any sensitive information.
- Avoid opening emails from sources you don't know
- Be skeptical of unknown numbers, even if the texter uses a familiar name or uses your name.
- DO NOT give any of your information to a text/email/or website you do not know
- Be extremely wary if the source is asking for gift cards. Gift cards should never be used as payment for any kind of emergency.
- Always verify in person when there is a request for money or personal information. Emails and texts are convenient, anonymous, and easily created by crooks.
- Report the scammer's text message to your cell phone carrier's spam text reporting number
What to do if you receive a text/email from a scammer:
- Forward the text to 7726 (the numbers spell out SPAM.) Doing so allows cell phone carriers to identify the senders of phishing messages.
- You can report the incident to the Elkton Police Department at 410-398-2222. This will add information to the police report we already have there.
- You can report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
- Block the number from sending you future texts.
- Always feel free to contact the parish office if you have any questions about suspect emails/texts.
What to do if you think you have fallen for this scam:
Scammers are good at convincing people there really is an emergency, so sometimes people have fallen victim and have made the trip to the Walmart or Target or CVS to buy gift cards to send these callers. This is their favorite way to get your money. It is like giving cash - it’s nearly untraceable unless you act immediately. If you’ve bought a gift card and lost money to someone who might be a scammer, tell the company who issued the card. The contact information might be on the card. Tell the company that their card was used in a scam. If you act quickly enough, they might be able to get your money back. Either way, it is important to know what happened to you. Then please tell the FTC about your loss at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. Your reports help try to shut the scammers down.
Some more articles on these types of scams:
https://www.oaoa.com/news/article_e70b98da-8e20-11e9-a652-6fbdc265b485.html
https://thecatholicspirit.com/featured/online-scam-targets-priests-parishioners/