Email Scams Targeting Churches

There are two email scams occurring with increasing frequency. These scams hurt churches in two ways, by stealing finances and by breaking congregational trust. What are these scams? What can or should you do about them? What should you do if you find yourself a victim of a scam?

The Scams

Each one of the two email scams appear to come from the pastor or a trusted member of church leadership.

The first scam directs emails at church staff. In it, “the pastor” requests the recipient to send funds or gift cards with PINs. This has been going on for a few years and has caught many churches by surprise. The good news, if there is any, is that the scam is usually only targeted at staff.

The second scam is worse because it targets congregants. Seeming to be from “the pastor” or a trusted church leader, congregants are asked to wire funds or send gift cards with PINs. This one hurts more because it becomes more widely known in your congregation than the first type of scam. It can break the trust that congregants have in the church’s communication systems. It is such a serious threat that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission posted a blog about it on July 29, 2019. Read More

Scammers have been employing these two scams for a number of years. Over a decade ago I received an email purportedly from a pastor friend of mine who had lost his wallet while traveling overseas. The email immediately raised two red flags. First the pastor in question would not have have sought to solicit funds from people on his contact list in this manner even in an emergency. Second whoever sent the email did not use the email address that the pastor regularly used. It was obviously a scam.