Church numbers receive scam messages through Facebook

By Cpl. Jack Nash
PIO OCSO

Posted 1/5/23

You have to be a special kind of nasty to scam people, even more so if you are pretending to be a local preacher.

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Church numbers receive scam messages through Facebook

Photo courtesy OCSO

This is an example of the SCAM Facebook messages Pastor Mershimer's congregation received.

Posted Thursday, January 5, 2023 2:21 pm

By Cpl. Jack Nash
PIO OCSO

OKEECHOBEE —You have to be a special kind of nasty to scam people, even more so if you are pretending to be a local preacher. That is precisely what is happening to Pastor Loy Mershimer from the Okeechobee Presbyterian Church. Eartlier this week, his parishioners started receiving the attached text message via Facebook.

It is a "cloned" account using a different phone number, but some would automatically feel trusting if their pastor reached out to them.

DO NOT ANSWER THIS MESSAGE