St. Mary’s Church reports gift card scam

Parishioners of the Diocese of Peterborough, specifically St. Mary’s Church in Lindsay are reportedly receiving emails appearing to be from local priests, requesting donations through the purchase of online gift cards.
The email requests that parishioners respond to the email with the security “PIN” numbers from the back of the gift card.
The Diocese has contacted the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service to report this fraud and has requested that a warning be issued to the public to advise them of the scam.
Please do not respond to any request that is received by email under the name of a priest asking for money.
The emails are not coming from the Diocese of Peterborough clergy or staff email addresses.