As we are all aware, scams are everywhere.  The most common scams that you hear about today are known as “phishing scams.”  These scams are where criminals will “cast out” any form of contact hoping that someone will respond.  This is done via email, phone call, text message, social media message, or wherever they might be able to elicit a response.  They will attempt to cater to where you might have an emotional connection and use that to their advantage.
In the past, contacts have made claiming to be a family member in need of help with a bill, bail, or the claim of another urgent situation.  There have also been claims of being a community service in need of donations.  They do whatever they can to grab your attention and tug at your heart strings.
In many of these situations a person will try to request a different form of payment than what would typically be used. It will be stated that gift cards or pre-paid cards can be processed faster than traditional payments. These are telltale signs that it is a scam.

There is one scam that has resurfaced recently that we want to make sure we inform you about.  This one is targeting congregation members from various churches with text messages claiming to be one of the pastors from the church they attend.  In today’s information age, finding out where a person attends and who the pastors are is not difficult. The two most current scams are requesting help for a child with cancer and help with getting something done around the church grounds.
Here at FBCKC, we want to make sure you know that no one from our ministry and church staff will ever reach out to you on a random basis and request any form of payment from you. We will not request any sort of financial solicitation that has not been discussed in person, in a business meeting, or from the pulpit.
None of these recent reports, as far as we are aware, have come from FBCKC. DO NOT respond to this type of message from somebody claiming to be from FBCKC, especially if you are not expecting one or do not recognize the telephone number or email address. Reach out to the ministry and church staff directly. If you do not have staff contact information, call the church office.  If you do not feel the need to reach out to the supposed sender directly, please make sure that you still let the church office know of the scam contact so that we are aware of the incident and can take the necessary measures to help protect you, as well as ministry and church staff. 
If you ever have questions about something you have received, please don’t hesitate to contact the church office. We will be more than happy to assist you.