WELCOME TO ST. MARY'S

NO Priest, Parish Staff Member or Volunteer, will contact you privately via email or text, asking you to purchase gift cards.

An old email phishing scam targeted at parishioners has been picked up and dusted off, hoping to find new victims it didn’t hit the first time around.

“Pastor” = “Scammer”

The basics of the scam are that church members get an email from their “Pastor” requesting them to contribute to the church by buying and sending in gift cards. Although the “Pastor” claims gift cards are needed, the “Pastor” tells the victims that he cannot physically pick up the gift card and that the purchaser will be reimbursed if they send access codes (PIN) through text or email after purchasing.

The emails seem harmless enough. They have the local pastor’s name and email address that looks legitimate, but upon further inspection, the email address is fake and from a provider different than the one the church uses. In some instances, the “Pastor's” name may look correct but is missing a single letter and often the body of the email or text is written poorly.

In all cases, the "Pastor" requests that the recipients of the email or text buy gift cards and send him the access codes (PIN).

Do not respond to the scammer and delete the email.

WE WILL NEVER ASK YOU TO PURCHASE GIFT CARDS AS DESCRIBED ABOVE

If you have any questions, please contact the office.