Fraudsters pose as Princeton area clergy members in new phishing scams

New phishing scams are targeting Princeton area clergy members and their congregations. People are receiving emails that look like they are from a priest, pastor, or rabbi, requesting gift cards, bank account information, or donations, when in reality the emails are from scammers.

Sometimes the emails appear to be from the clergy member. They include a phone number or email address that looks very similar to the clergy member’s contact information, as well as phrases or a sign-off that is commonly used by the person.

In one instance this week, an email went out that appeared to be from a local priest, ending with his signature signoff “peace and blessings.” The email was from a scammer impersonating the priest and the imposter claimed to be collecting gift cards for local COVID-19 patients.

Phishing scams targeting clergy members, lay leaders, and congregations have become more and more common in the U.S. over the past year or so. Imposters attempt via emails or text messages to get people to reveal personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers, or to send money or gift cards to them.

When you receive an email or text message that appears to be from a local clergy member:

  • Check the email address of the sender
  • Do not respond to fake emails or emails asking for money, gift cards, or bank information
  • Do not provide personal financial information in an email
  • Do not click on any links in such emails

Clergy members will never ask you to send a gift card online or provide bank information via email. Delete such emails and report them to your congregation’s leaders if you receive one so that others in your congregation can be made aware of the scam before they get tricked.

Other tips from the Federal Trade Commission:

  • Protect your computer by using security software. Set the software to update automatically so it can deal with any new security threats.
  • Protect your mobile phone by setting software to update automatically. These updates could give you critical protection against security threats.
  • Protect your accounts by using multi-factor authentication. Some accounts offer extra security by requiring two or more credentials to log in to your account. This is called multi-factor authentication.
  • Protect your data by backing it up. Make sure backups aren’t connected to your home network. You can copy your computer files to an external hard drive or cloud storage. Back up the data on your phone, too.

If you think a scammer has your information such as a Social Security number, your credit card data, or bank account number, visit identitytheft.gov and follow the steps listed for each piece of information you provided to the scammer. If you think you clicked on a link or opened an attachment that downloaded harmful software, update your computer’s security software and then run a security scan.