Do Not Respond to Messages Asking for Money or Gift Cards
The bad guys continue to attempt to get our Parish Family to send them money through any means necessary. At first, they have tried to send email messages pretending to be Father Tom or some other member of our clergy. Then, they tried to pretend to be our staff. They can use names and phrases that make you think that the message is coming from Saint John or from one of our priests. Now, they are even sending text messages asking you to contact them back and then asking for gift cards or money to be sent to them. This is all false.
No clergy or staff of Saint John the Evangelist will ever ask for money or gift cards via email or text. This is a scam called “Spear Phishing”:
If you receive one of these messages, please delete it immediately. Do not click on any links inside of it or reply in any way.