Sunday 4 October 2026
Afternoon EditionRSS
ZOTPAPER

News without the noise

ZOTPAPER
Security

Scammers impersonate church ministers in nationwide gift card fraud

Townsville volunteer's vigilance highlights threat targeting congregations since 2021

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Scammers are impersonating church ministers in a gift card fraud that has targeted congregations in every Australian state and territory since 2021, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre. The scammers gain access to church directories before emailing members posing as clergy and requesting gift card purchases for fake charitable causes.

Sharyn Reisener, a volunteer at her Townsville church, recently thwarted an attempt after receiving an email that appeared to be from her minister but with a slightly altered address — swapping an underscore for a period. A follow-up request for the church directory raised her suspicions.

"That rang even more alarm bells because I knew he wouldn't call me 'Office', he would call me by name," she said. After contacting the minister directly, she confirmed the email was a scam.

The Sydney Anglican Services head of IT, Nathan McQueen, warned that scammers use publicly available names of clergy to impersonate them. "If they do get access, the scammer then emails members of the congregation pretending to be the rector, asking them to purchase gift cards for a vulnerable member of the congregation," he said in a video shared across the Sydney Diocese.

The National Anti-Scam Centre noted the scam has been operating since 2021. Once victims send gift card numbers, they are asked to buy more. Other scams targeting churches include fake invoices and forged council rates.

§

Analysis

Why This Matters

  • Church communities, often built on trust and goodwill, are being exploited through targeted social engineering.
  • Victims may lose significant money through repeated gift card purchases, and the scam undermines faith in church communications.
  • The scam's longevity (since 2021) and nationwide reach suggest it is profitable for perpetrators.

Background

Gift card scams are a common form of fraud where victims are tricked into buying prepaid cards and sharing the codes. Scammers often impersonate authority figures — such as bosses, government officials, or in this case, religious leaders — to create urgency and exploit the victim's desire to help. Churches are particularly vulnerable because their directories and leadership structures are often publicly accessible.

Key Perspectives

Congregants: Trusting members may feel pressured to comply with a request from their minister, especially if the email appears genuine and appeals to their charitable instincts. Church Administrators: Organisations are struggling to balance openness with security, as scam attempts increase and volunteers may lack cybersecurity training. Law Enforcement: The National Anti-Scam Centre acknowledges the difficulty of tracing scammers who operate across jurisdictions and use anonymised gift cards.

What to Watch

  • Further reports from other denominations or regions indicating the scam is evolving.
  • Steps by church bodies to implement verification protocols for email communications.
  • Potential legislative or enforcement responses targeting gift card fraud more broadly.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

How we workReport an errorSubscribe