The rise of smartphones and mobile payment apps has brought with it a new kind of faith-based crime: scams in which someone impersonates a religious leader and texts a large group of church members asking for urgent donations.
Earlier this year, a man posing as a Catholic priest was able to steal $500 from a Houston church and infiltrate several other houses of worship.
“The unidentified man has also been active in California, Oregon and Ontario, according to memos from March and April from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which warned of a man posing as a priest who had gained access to parish offices and who was ‘likely responsible for stealing $1,770 from a parish in Oregon,’” The New York Times reported.
Read more about the scams here.
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