Churches warn elderly not to be duped by ‘unscrupulous individuals’ offering to do their shopping or deliver cash envelopes to clergy

A post on the Parish of Antrim Facebok page says: “We have become aware of attempted scams in other Parishes in relation to the Parish envelopes, where Individuals have been offering to collect the envelopes and bring them to the Parish Office.

“We would like to make very clear - Parish of Antrim envelopes are NOT being collected by anyone at this time.

“Please share this out across the Parish”.

Anoher post on Tha Parish of Glenravel adds: “Just a word to watch:

“We are aware of a fraudulent scam within some Parishes in the Diocese.

“Unscrupulous individuals are calling with vulnerable people and offering to:

1 - Take their weekly envelopes to the Church

2 - Offering to do their shopping but wanting cash up front.

Please be aware of this scam”.

In a statement the Diocese of Down and Connor said they have become aware of a fraudulent scam targeting vulnerable people within parishes.

The statement added that unscrupulous individuals are calling with vulnerable people and offering to take their weekly parish envelopes to the Church and also offering to do their shopping but wanting cash up front.

“These fraudulent scams are criminal and have been reported by the Diocese to the PSNI.

The Diocese of Down and Connor would encourage all people, and particularly families of vulnerable adults, to be vigilant to such criminal activity. All such unsolicited approaches should be reported to the PSNI.

In line with the government’s ‘Stay at Home’ and social distancing policies, parish envelopes will not be collected at this time.

Parishioners who choose to use their weekly envelopes as normal, should retain their envelopes and, once Government policy allows, the parish will arrange to safely collect them”.

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Irish and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you,

Alistair Bushe

Editor