Crime & Safety

Email Scamster Posed As Cedar Grove Church Leader: PD

An email scamster masquerading as a clergy member of a Cedar Grove church tricked a resident out of $900 in gift cards, police said.

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — An email scamster masquerading as a clergy member of a local church tricked a resident out of $900 in gift cards last week, police said.

According to the Cedar Grove Police Department, on Jan. 19, a resident reported that a person pretending to be a clergy member of Saint Catherine of Siena Church contacted them via email.

The phony church leader told their victim to buy $900 in eBay gift cards, which would be given out to new parishioners. The victim bought the cards and gave the numbers to the scamster, losing $900 in the process, police said.

Police are investigating the incident, authorities said.

Keep updated with local public safety alerts at the Patch Verona-Cedar Grove Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Support These Local Businesses

+ List My Business

File Photo: Shutterstock

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.