There’s a new email money scam to be aware of in Kansas. This one is a new angle on a gift card scam, according to the State Attorney General, Derek Schmidt. Now scammers are posing as a religious leader in the community asking for donations by a gift card. They are doing it by email and even by phone.
Check out the red flags to warn you it’s a scam:
- The email received could have a different domain name from the one typically used by the church
- Spelling and grammatical mistakes in the body of the email
- A minister or religious leader’s name could be spelled incorrectly
- The email could often simply contain a generic “hello” or “hi” rather than a more personal greeting that contains your name. This makes it easier for scammers to send a mass email.
- The email requests a donation be sent via gift card.
What you can do:
- Be skeptical when anyone asks to make a payment or donation via gift card
- If it’s over the phone, hang up.
- If it’s through email, don’t respond. You can always follow up with a phone call or conversation at your next religious service.
- If you have made this type of payment lately with the belief it was for a charitable donation to a religious institution contact the gift card company and report it immediately.
Further resources:
- You can call the Kansas Attorney General Consumer Protection Line at 800-432-2310
- Or visit the website at https://ag.ks.gov/in-your-corner-kansas/home
