GREENSBORO, NC (WFMY) - St. Pius X Catholic Church in Greensboro has issued a warning to its parishioners and members of the public about an email phishing scam that is circulating. The church's management posted the warning about the scam to a social media page. The scam, according to the post, involved a request to purchase an iTunes gift card. The post on Facebook read:
"Email Scam Alert! If you receive an email asking you to send a gift card somewhere, please know that this is not legitimate. No one from SPX would ask anyone to purchase an iTunes gift card. Please share this info."
An article from the Catholic News-Herald reported Holy Cross Church's pastor Father Paul Dechant in Kernersville and Father Tom Norris of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point were recently impersonated in this email scam. On May 14, Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro warned that Father Paul Buchanan, pastor, and Father Christian Cook were also being impersonated by email scammers. The News-Herald says At least 10 pastors in the Diocese of Charlotte have been impersonated by cyber criminals since April.
There have been various forms of phishing scams circulating which involve requests to purchase or make payments with gift cards.
The Better Business Bureau has an advisory about such gift card scams on its website and lists tips on how to identify a phishing scam that comes to your email.
- Don't believe what you see. Just because an email looks real, doesn't mean it is. Scammers can fake anything from a company logo to the "Sent" email address.
- Be cautious of generic emails. Scammers try to cast a wide net by including little or no specific information in their fake emails.
- Be especially wary of messages you have not subscribed to or companies you have never done business with in the past.
- Consider how the organization normally contacts you. If an organization normally reaches you by mail, be suspicious if you suddenly start receiving emails or text messages without ever opting into the new communications.
- Be wary of unexpected emails that contain links or attachments. Do not click on links or open files in unfamiliar emails.