Friday, Aug. 25, 2023
My mom was the target of two different scams in the past couple of weeks. She’s usually pretty cautious about such things, but in each case there was a reason for her to think the contact was legitimate.
The first scam was a text she received, purportedly from Father Martin Diaz, rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, asking for a donation to help someone in the hospital. Mom knows Fr. Martin, and she also thought that perhaps he had mistakenly contacted her instead of me, because I’m in regular communication with him. Mom replied to the text, and then was asked to purchase $500 worth of gift cards and send the card numbers and PIN codes. At that point, Mom called me. I immediately told her it was a scam: No priest in the diocese will ever ask for a donation by text. (And, yes, I did confirm with Fr. Martin that he hadn’t sent the text.)
This isn’t the first time this scam has surfaced in the diocese. I know of three instances it’s been tried before, each using the name of a different priest. There also have been similar scams where parishioners are sent a message saying their pastor has an emergency and needs money immediately. Every time this was a scam. At the risk of repeating myself: No diocesan priest will ask for money in this way. If you receive such a request and think for some reason it might be legitimate, contact your parish for verification before offering to help.
The second scam targeting my mom sounded to me like it might possibly be valid. The phone message said it was from Publishers Clearing House, and that Mom had won a prize. The message was detailed enough to give us both hope, but Mom said she hadn’t entered any of those contests recently, and because I’m naturally suspicious I did some checking online before suggesting to Mom that she call back. A quick read of the Publishers Clearing House website dashed our dreams that she was about to get rich: Under the header “Beware of Scam Calls,” it states, “… we never phone ahead to disclose that someone has won a major prize.”
We were fortunate that Mom didn’t lose any money in either of these scams. Mom said she was going to warn all her friends about them, and this column is my part in raising the alarm. Scammers are clever, and they’re constantly coming up with new schemes. The elderly aare particular targets. Following are a couple of tips from the Federal Trade Commission on how to avoid a scam.
Scammers can pretend to be from an organization like the government, a business or a charity. They might say there’s a problem with your account, or that you have to pay money to avoid a problem. To avoid falling victim to a scam, don’t give out personal information like your Social Security number unless you’re the one who made the call and you’re certain that you’ve reached a legitimate business. For example, the other day I called my credit card company and had to give my card number. Because I’d called the number on the bill, I was comfortable giving the information required.
The FTC also suggests you do what Mom did: “Before you do anything else, tell someone — a friend, a family member, a neighbor — what happened. Talking about it could help you realize it’s a scam,” the FTC website states.
Please help keep your family and friends safe from scammers. Let your fellow parishioners know that your pastor won’t ever ask for money via text. Share the tips on how to recognize a scam and avoiding falling into one. Scammers are smart; we need to be smarter.
Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic. Reach her at marie@icatholic.org.
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