St. Barnabas Church in the Bronx warns of scam emails and text messages
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the church said scam emails and messages may appear to come from St. Barnabas Parish or Father Fitzgerald.
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A Bronx church is warning parishioners to watch out for scammers posing as church leaders.
Members of St. Barnabas Church say scammers have been sending emails that appear to come from the church’s pastor.
Joseph Cremin, the church’s sexton, said he and a deacon both received emails claiming to be from the pastor.
“He sent me another email saying he wanted seven gift cards at $200 apiece, totaling $1,400, for either Apple or Foot Locker,” Cremin said.
Cremin became suspicious because he had recently been with the pastor, and the request had never been mentioned.
After contacting the pastor directly, he learned the messages were part of a scam.
Church officials said similar scams have been targeting parishioners for years, but they recently issued a Facebook warning to ensure that members, especially older adults, were aware of the latest incident.
Church leaders stressed that neither the pastor nor anyone from the parish will ever ask people by email or text message to purchase gift cards or provide financial information.
Anyone who receives a suspicious message is urged not to respond, click on any links or send money.
Those who believe they may have been victimized by the scam are encouraged to contact the NYPD.
