We are aware that Cyber thieves are now going after your wallet in addition to your passwords by adopting a simple tactic to trick you into handing over your money.
While not new, gift card scams are on the rise and can result in a victim losing hundreds or thousands of dollars. In the past few days employees and parishioners of St. Joseph Church have received an email or text that pretends to be from Msgr. Swiader. It asks them to " “Would you do me a favor” and buy gift cards and send them photos of the backs, for reasons that will supposedly be explained later. The scammer may even ask you to communicate with them via text message. In this email/text message scam, you are given a very plausible story as to why they need a gift card.
What you should do:
• Ask yourself, "“Would Msgr. Swiader really ask me to do this?"
• Call Msgr. Swiader to verify authenticity of the request.
• Do not reply to the email.
• Do not purchase any gift cards.