Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
On Tuesday, Nov. 28, a coordinated scam was launched on parishioners of the First Lutheran Church in New Rockford.
Unfortunately, at least one of those parishioners fell victim to the scam, losing a total of $400.
The scammer or scammers launched their assault at around noon on Tuesday with a simple text message, which appeared to be from pastor Amy Kippen.
The message began by addressing the target by name, such as the one sent to Katie Jorgensen, office administrator for the First Lutheran Church.
“Hello Katie,” began the text sent to Jorgensen. “Please return my text when you get it, I have a favor to be ask. Blessings, Rev. Amy Kippen.”
As anyone who responded soon found out, the favor was to purchase $400 worth of gift cards. The victim would then be asked to send a picture of the cards as soon as they were purchased.
The church attempted to get the word out immediately after discovering the scam, with several posts to their Facebook page.
“Unfortunately a lot of the people that are going to fall subject to it are going to be the elderly who may not use [Facebook],” said Jorgensen.
Also notified of the scam was the Eddy County Sheriff’s Department.
As of press time, only one victim is known to have fallen victim to the scam.
Those who think they may be a target of the same scam are encouraged to call the First Lutheran Church in New Rockford at (701) 947-2478 to verify.
If you believe you’ve fallen victim to this scam or any other scam, be sure to contact your bank immediately. The sooner your bank knows the greater the likelihood of getting your money back.
