It’s the holiday season and generosity abounds. Criminals are taking advantage of the season and our hearts to scam unsuspecting worshipers. This new scam is a twist on the old “gift card” scam that emails, texts or calls people asking them to pay an outstanding bill via a gift card. These scams rely on threats such as an arrest. This new scam relies on making us feel good.
Scammers are pretending to be clergy from the faith of the person. They have bene able to hack into the files of the house of worship, obtain the names of the clergy and contact information of the worshipers. Then they send them a direct appeal via email, text or phone call to ask for a donation for a worthy cause. The emails and texts are signed by the clergy person; the phone calls are from “a person on the staff (or volunteer).” We often don’t think twice about receiving this type of communication and are very likely to give as it can be a small amount. But, unfortunately, we need to be more careful.
The scammer asks to worshiper to buy a popular gift card: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, etc. They then call them back and ask for the card number and PIN on the back of the card. Those numbers enable the scammer to immediately get the money – all without a trace! Now the money is gone!
How to Spot?
Try to remember to look closely at any email asking for gift cards; it is very unusual for that type of request – although during holiday season it’s possible that it is legitimate. Look carefully at the email address of the sender. Is it one that your place of worship uses? Most places of worship do not use Yahoo, Hotmail, or even Gmail. If you aren’t sure, call their office.
Red flags:
- The message may just start “Hi”
- The email is not signed by a clergy member
- Spelling errors, including the clergy person’s name
This is the season when people are more caring and thoughtful and, unfortunately, that may lead to a scam.
