Scam Alert Targeting VT Church Members
7/3/20261 min read
Houses of worship have been advised by the Vermont Department of Public Safety to take extra precaution regarding emails that seem to request help from or for their pastors, rabbis or imams.
In an email on July 16, DPS described the scam: "victims are targeted by text messages sent by an individual claiming to be a known Pastor. They address their target by their actual name to appear like a legitimate and trusted individual. The scammer impersonating the Pastor goes on to ask for gift cards for members of the congregation that are battling cancer in the hospital. If their intended target texts them back, they respond and say they are in a meeting and cannot talk. In Vermont, one of the phone numbers used to contact victims of this scam is 802-353-4743. This is likely not the only number being used to perpetrate this scam, but it is also likely that individuals in the state would be contacted through Vermont area code phone numbers to add further legitimacy to the scam."
If you receive one of these do not respond. Mark it as spam and move on. Rev. Plagge will never seek assistance for others in anything but a public way (at church on a Sunday morning or via our email newsletter).