Dear Friends,
I just received notificationis from members who received text messages from someone pretending to be me. The scammer is asking for you to contact them back for some help.
I will never for help by a text message. If a need arises in the church, we will use the appropriate channels of reaching out to the congregation, not through cryptic messages. I know that you all have caring hearts that want to help, but please know that we must be careful about the greed of others trying to take advantage of a faith community. Also please know that I have a fund to help people in need. I will use that fund (which is available due to your generosity) before I ever ask for money from you privately.
Please make sure that you have my work cell in your phone or on something you can find easily. If the number that contacted you does not match my publicized number DO NOT RESPOND. Even if the message is signed with my typical signature (blessings, Pastor Brian). By the way, I never sign my text messages with my name so that is a dead give away. My number is at the bottom of this email and every email you receive from the church, including ones that I send to people individually.
Also, if you do receive an email, from what appears to be me make sure to click on my name and make sure that the email address (not just what they say the name is) matches my work email. This will help you detect a scam from a legitimate email.
And as always, if you ever have a question about the validity or legitimacy of an email or text from the church, call us. Never respond to a text or email. Find my email or phone number and start a new conversation from what you know is my legitimate contact information. That is what these individuals did, and I am so grateful for them. It informs our office of what is happening, and I can directly share with them whether the text, email, etc. was legitimate.
Stay safe!
Blessings,
Pastor Brian
