A local
church’s large directory of phone numbers is currently in the process of being used by a scammer to contact people to ask them to buy gift cards. This has happened in our community before, and the victims were not able to recoup their losses. Usually the scammers use the VOIP phone numbers, which cause them to not be identified easily, and often they are out of the country. They will usually gain access to a local directory, find the organization’s leader, and then contact the personnel or church members. They will pretend to the be leader of the organization, saying why they are unable to buy the gift cards, and then ask people to send them the gift card numbers. Please do not fall for this type of scam, and warn family and friends you may be vulnerable to be aware of these types of deceptions. Find more information about these types of scams at: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/07/worshipers-targeted-gift-card-scam