There is a new twist to an old scam that has drawn the attention of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt says scammers are now posing as community religious leaders that ask for charitable contributions through gift cards. Similar approaches have been used to simulate grandchildren stuck in foreign countries for a variety of reasons, representatives from local utilities or law enforcement or even staffers from the Attorney General’s Office.
Schmidt says these requests normally come by email, and they may seem legitimate on first glance. However, they may also have a different email domain than the one typically used by the church. There may be spelling or grammatical mistakes. The minister’s name may be misspelled.
If people agree to donate by gift card, scammers then ask for the card and personal ID number. Once given, the scammer can immediately access the money loaded on the card.
If you receive such an email, don’t respond. Instead, follow up with the minister to confirm whether the request was valid. If you have already responded and made a payment, report it to the gift card company immediately.
For more information, go online to www.InYourCornerKansas.org or call the Attorney General’s consumer protection hotline at 800-432-2310.
