Latest Louisiana Scam - Texts from Priests Wanting Gift Cards

There is no level of no good that scammers won't sink to when it comes to stealing your hard-earned money. Want proof? Check out the latest scam that has been reported in several communities across Louisiana.

The Better Business Bureau is reporting that several residents of Southwest Louisiana have reported getting text messages purported to be from local priests. Those messages ask the recipient of the text to purchase gift cards to help the needy.

According to a report from KPLC Television these priests have been impersonated by scammers over the past six months:

Fr. Whitney Miller - St. Phillip Neri Church, Kinder

Fr. Aubrey Guilbeau - St. Theodore Catholic Church, Moss Bluff

Fr. Keith Pellerin - Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church, Jennings

Msgr. Daniel Torres - Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church, Lake Charles

What may be even stranger than the fact that your priest is texting you would be the kind of gift cards "the needy" are in need of. You wouldn't think iTunes gift cards or gift cards for various electronics stores would be on "the needy" list but according to these scammer texts they are.

The reason the bad guys ask for gift cards is that they are basically untraceable. Once the scammer gets the card or the associated information off the card to activate it, they simply pull the cash off the card and you're out the money you spent to buy it.

So, if you get a text message that claims to be from a local priest requesting gift cards, you might want to either ignore it completely or pick up the phone and call that priest or his church office.