{"id":9681,"date":"2025-11-05T15:32:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T19:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/?p=9681"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T19:32:55","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8gift-card-scam-targeting-parishioners-stay-vigilant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/%f0%9f%9a%a8gift-card-scam-targeting-parishioners-stay-vigilant\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8Gift Card Scam Targeting Parishioners &#8211; Stay Vigilant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear Parish Community,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve been made aware of a fraudulent scheme targeting members of our congregation. Scammers are impersonating church staff via email and asking parishioners to purchase gift cards on their behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Please be advised: No member of our clergy or staff will ever request gift cards or financial favors via email, text, or phone.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What to Watch For:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Messages claiming to be from a priest, deacon, or church employee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Requests for urgent help purchasing gift cards (e.g., for a sick parishioner, Christmas, or charitable cause)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unusual email addresses or phone numbers that don\u2019t match official church contacts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What You Should Do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Do not respond<\/strong> to these messages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Do not purchase<\/strong> any gift cards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Report the scam<\/strong> to the church office immediately<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you\u2019ve already sent money or gift cards, contact your bank or card issuer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are working diligently to protect our community and appreciate your vigilance. If you ever receive a suspicious message, always call the parish office directly to verify its authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s continue to care for one another, safely and wisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blessings,<br>St. Mark and St. Luke Staff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Parish Community, We\u2019ve been made aware of a fraudulent scheme targeting members of our congregation. Scammers are impersonating church staff via email and asking parishioners to purchase gift cards on their behalf. Please be advised: No member of our clergy or staff will ever request gift cards or financial favors via email, text, or &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/%f0%9f%9a%a8gift-card-scam-targeting-parishioners-stay-vigilant\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\ud83d\udea8Gift Card Scam Targeting Parishioners &#8211; Stay Vigilant<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ZI4x-2w9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4989,"url":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/corpus-christi-procession\/","url_meta":{"origin":9681,"position":0},"title":"Corpus Christi Procession","author":"Lucy Schemel","date":"June 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"After the 5 pm Mass on Saturday, June 18, please join us as we honor Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This is an indoor\/outdoor event suitable for all ages. Here's how you and your family can be a part of it: Fresh flower donations\u00a0can be brought to the parish hall\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9118,"url":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/we-need-to-hear-from-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":9681,"position":1},"title":"We need to hear from you!","author":"StMarkStLukeParish","date":"October 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Bishop Senior and Father Augusty ask that all parishioners age 18 and up please take this 10 to 15 minute survey that can be accessed through this online link until November 26, 2024. The survey asks you to reflect on your own spiritual growth and enables you to provide your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/StMark-DMI.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5789,"url":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/bringing-up-the-gifts-at-mass\/","url_meta":{"origin":9681,"position":2},"title":"Bringing Up the Gifts at Mass","author":"Lucy Schemel","date":"September 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"St. Mark and St. Luke Parishioners, Could you please\u00a0help out the parish by bringing up the gifts at Mass? Your family can sign up for a particular Mass here: Sign up Genius You will represent the parish, and the entire Church, in returning to God the blessings He has given\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2815,"url":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/welcome-back-letter-from-fr-walter\/","url_meta":{"origin":9681,"position":3},"title":"&#8220;Welcome Back&#8221; letter from Fr. Walter!","author":"Don M","date":"June 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Fr. Walter's Letter 6-1-20Download This is a link to Fr. Walter's June 1 2020 letter that was mailed to parishioners this past week. It outlines the plans, schedules, and safety measures in place as we return to public masses on June 13 & 14. There are many important details in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9097,"url":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/upcoming-parish-survey\/","url_meta":{"origin":9681,"position":4},"title":"Upcoming Parish Survey","author":"StMarkStLukeParish","date":"October 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Bishop Senior is asking that all parishioners age 18 and up please take this 10\u201315-minute survey that can be accessed through an online link from\u00a0October 18 \u2013 November 26.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/DiscipleMakerIndex.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4146,"url":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/holy-hour-for-life-at-st-mark\/","url_meta":{"origin":9681,"position":5},"title":"Holy Hour for Life at St. Mark","author":"Lucy Schemel","date":"November 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"December 1, 9 am-10 am Catholics across the country will be turning to prayer on Wednesday, December 1 by participating in Eucharistic Adoration in an effort to end abortion. On this date, the U.S. Supreme Court will be listening to oral arguments in\u00a0Dobbs vs. Jackson Women\u2019s Health. Pro-life advocates are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/OLG.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9681"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9682,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9681\/revisions\/9682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarkstlukeparish.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}