New SCAM! Impersonating your priest to solicit gift cards or money

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I’ve received a text saying that our priest is not requesting and will never request gift cards, nor cash, under any circumstances—not by text, not by e-mail, and not by snail mail.

Apparently, the scam involves tricking parish members by appealing to their instincts to help their priest. Signatures claim to be Fr So-and-so, or use only a first name, or even a nickname. Forewarned is forearmed.

A similar appeal was made to me, supposedly by a medium-close friend from my email contact list. The plea said that she was vacationing in England, and as a foreign visitor had done a minor thing that was okay in the States, but had landed her in jail. She was terribly embarrassed and would explain it all to me as soon as she arrived safely back home. Would I please send her $2,000 in care of an attorney, in order to spring her from the cell. She would be able to pay me back soon after arrival back home, as she would borrow from a life insurance policy to pay me.

I, too, was embarrassed, because I simply didn’t have any money to help her. With great embarrassment and shame, I apologized by email, knowing that she’d find it once she was safely in our hometown. Almost immediately, she emailed back in confusion. I sent her a copy of the email, and she sent a copy to everyone in her email list.

If someone is impersonating my priest, it’s probably being done across the country, or will be soon. Please spread the word.
 
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I’ve seen several parishes having to put such announcements on the website or in the bulletin in the past year, that their parish priest will never contact them asking for money. Must be going around.

I also used to work with a lady, about 15 years ago, who was used as the alleged “victim” in one of those e-mail scams. The e-mail claimed she was in prison in some foreign country and asked for money, when in reality she was here in USA going to work as usual. Her grandparents, who didn’ t live near her, almost fell for it.
 
They definitely have no shame. I get these all the time…but they’re usually trying to get credit card info, or threatening me about a crime I’ve committed…out of state, of course.

I don’t know anyone’s age here, but if you’re under 60, expect it to get worse, as you get older. I’ve already apologized in advance to my friends, in case I don’t recognize their voices, and am rude.

But I hadn’t heard it said about priests. So, thanks for the heads up, OP.
 
Nor will the IRS call you on the phone and tell you you’re about to be arrested, and scare the living CR** out of you. That’s a scam, too, and they’ll demand financial information from you to “get you out of trouble”.

Everyone is so afraid of the Big Bad Wolf (IRS), that even if they’ve paid their taxes, they’ll start wondering what they did wrong when they get a call like that. I’ve gotten them, and the people who make them use a real rude tone to make you think it’s a real agent and serious.

These calls are a scam. The IRS will notify you by a letter in snail mail, but they won’t call you or send you an e-mail. Never give anyone posing on the phone as an IRS agent any financial information.

Another bad type of call are these ones with a V in front of a long string of numbers. Don’t even answer those, if they show up in your phone’s display window.

Me wonders if these hoodlums have nothing better to do with their time, and who is paying them to harass folks?
 
Speaking of the IRS…
I got a call from them this morning. Seems like, because of some problem or other, my social security number is being suspended. I didn’t press the extension to get more info, though. It can be entertaining, but I think it gets you put on the list of ‘people who at least bother to speak’, and can generate more scam calls.

Maybe next time…
 
The priest thing has been going around for awhile. I’ve received the message a few times myself.

The other scams such as the social security one, I’ve asked to talk to them, they don’t want to talk to me.

I like the car warranty calls. I tell them sign me up, I have a ton of stuff on my car that needs to be fixed. They always hang up when I say that. 🤷‍♀️
 
My Mum has had numerous phone calls from scammers, a few weeks ago my friend got a call saying something about the internet , he tried to answer in an accent but stuffed it up so then the guy hung up.
Thanks for the warning @Minks.
 
My brother in law, who is a priest, has had to make announcements and put them in the bulletin for the last two years, warning his parishioners never to give money or gift cards to anyone that claims he’s asking for them.
 
These have been going on for a long time. They are in the same family as the “foreign prince who needs to claim his inheritance” scams.

Block and report any such email or text messages.
 
Various versions of this have been going around our diocese for a couple of years now. Usually the scammer will make an email address that looks similar to the priest’s or looks like it could be his, and will hunt down parishioners’ contact information. For example, a parish website might post their bulletins online, which often contain some of the parishioners’ emails addresses and/or phone numbers if they volunteer or are on parish committees or are heading up a parish fundraiser or whatever the case may be. The scammer peruses the website and bulletins and then texts or emails parishioners asking them for gift cards or money.

Hopefully most people are not taken in by this, but I am sure it has fooled at least a few naive, good-hearted parishioners who think their pastor is in need of help. So parishes should continue to spread the word about these scams and assure their people that their pastor would not be texting or emailing and asking for money or gift cards.
 
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