In all my years as a priest, people have been contacted by “me” to be informed that I was
1) Trapped in Africa
2) Passport lost in Europe
3) Arrested in Italy
And on, and on, and on. All of the message have asked for money to be sent to help me out. Only, they’ve never been from me. And I’m not the only one this has ever happened to.
People love to scam and, sadly, use the names of very public people hoping that immediate sympathy will override common sense. The texts some people got from “me” today were from a 903 area code. A quick Google search would show that it was a Texas/Texarkana phone number but that might not even be legitimate. The truth of the matter is that public people are often targeted in scams.
The moral of the story, do not believe these when they go around. If you are really concerned, a quick phone call to the person supposedly asking for help would let you know it’s not true.
Thanks for those who were concerned about my welfare today. I sure hope nobody fell for it. These scammers generate a lot of messages hoping that at least a few will respond.
Be aware.
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On a happier note, thank, John Schweisthal, for a wonderful Parish Mission this week. I think those who attended took home a lot to mull over. God bless you as you official retire from your 30+ years as a Catholic Lay Evangelist. You’ve done good work, brother. Keep practicing! 🙂
