Scammer posing as the Archbishop of York asks victims to buy them Amazon gift cards

The fraudster has targeted churchwardens, treasurers and other volunteers across the Diocese of York by pretending to be either their local vicar and in some cases, the Archbishop of York himself.

The victims have received emails asking them to purchase high-value Amazon gift cards for the sender - but are instructed not to call them as they are 'busy in prayer'.

One worshipper was duped into believing the cards would be used to buy gifts as 'thank you' presents for members of the Church family, and the scammer promises victims that money will be reimbursed.

One holder of office within the Diocese bought the cards but realised they had been conned before sending details to the scammer.

The Diocese believes that the sender has 'taken some trouble' identifying both the person they are impersonating and their intended victim, and suspects they are looking on parish church websites to find out the names and contact details of individual reverends and parishioners.

The Gmail address used is untraceable.

North Yorkshire Police are investigating.

The email typically reads: “Do you have a moment I have a request I need you to handle discreetly. I am currently busy in a prayer session, no calls so just reply to my email.”

The scammer asks the individual to send photos of the gift cards or vouchers which allows them to collect the unique codes and use them to make online purchases.

The Diocese of York's director of communications Martin Sheppard said: "The suggestion is that these people are looking at church websites rather than gaining access to internal databases. It's not unique to York - it's happening all over the country and even in Canada. It seems as if a loose network of people have wised up to the fact that these church contact numbers are readily available.

"Churches are communities of trust. The scammer will impersonate the vicar and contact the treasurer, the secretary, even the caretaker - and there's a good chance that someone will fall for it.

"We're asking people to look twice at the Gmail address the email is sent from - it's often something generic like '[email protected]'. We can't block all Gmail addresses, and many of these are throwaway accounts. Many people simply don't look at the address, only the sender's name, and it's quite easy to hoodwink them."

Mr Sheppard reiterated that parishes will never ask members of their congregation to use their own money for a purchase via email.

"This isn't an IT scam; it's an old-fashioned confidence trick, done via email."

Residents of the Diocese area are being urged to check the sender address of any emails appearing to be from a reverend or other church representative and not to make any purchases based on email correspondence received.

Anyone receiving these emails should report it to North Yorkshire Police by calling 101.