CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office is warning consumers to be cautious when responding to charitable solicitations from houses of worship or other faith-based charities.
“We want people to donate to their local church or favorite charity but to do so wisely,” Morrisey said. “Consumers need to ensure they are dealing with the correct entity and not someone who is merely posing as that entity.”
According to the AG’s office, scammers have been known to hack a minister’s or faith-based charity’s online account. They then email consumers in those entities’ databases saying they desperately need money or must talk about a personal matter.
Morrisey
Morrisey’s office said the scammers could claim the pastor is stuck overseas and needs gift cards sent to get home, or they could solicit funds for a worthy project. The emails might even say where to buy gift cards in the area, adding a local touch that makes the note seem more authentic. They also may reference information about the congregation found on the church’s website.
The emails appear to come from the minister or charity. Only careful inspection reveals the communications are fake. For instance, instead of a church’s .com account, the address might be .net.
In one instance, a parishioner nearly sent $400 in gift cards to someone they thought was their pastor. In another, congregants contributed to a building fund for a project that never existed.
Morrisey’s office says church fundraising used to be a relatively personal, one-on-one endeavor. COVID-19 and related church shutdowns, however, forced congregations to get creative to keep up with expenses. That has provided greater opportunities for scammers to take advantage of good-hearted parishioners.
The AG’s office asks consumers to beware of emails from a minister saying they need money wired to an account or gift cards sent to them. They also should be leery of egregious spelling errors or unusual use of common words. They should be especially cautious when clicking on links in emails because those could lead to one’s computer or other device being hacked or the possibility of downloading malware or ransomware.
If in doubt, parishioners should call the pastor or church office.
The office also recommends that houses of worship and charities consider purchasing domain names similar to theirs, such as buying the .com address if they are .org or .net.
Anyone who believes they have been the victim of a faith-based scam is asked to contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-368-8808, the Eastern Panhandle Consumer Protection Office in Martinsburg at 304-267-0239 or visit the office online at www.wvago.gov.