The Roman Catholic Church in Singapore has issued a warning about a rise in scams targeting members of the Catholic community, with fraudsters posing as parish priests and church leaders to solicit money.
In a statement released on Friday, February 6, the Roman Catholic Archbishop’s Communication Office said scammers have been creating fake social media accounts and email addresses using the names, titles and photos of clergy and church leaders.
In some cases, victims are contacted through messaging applications, where conmen initiate private conversations under the guise of a priest seeking help.
The scammers typically request “urgent help” or “discreet assistance” for charitable causes and may ask for gift cards or bank transfers. These messages are often designed to pressure recipients by creating a sense of urgency or insisting on secrecy, the Church said.
The Church stressed that its priests and leaders do not contact individuals through private messages to ask for money or financial favours. It urged members of the public to verify email addresses carefully, noting that official correspondence from the archdiocese will always use the “@catholic.org.sg” domain.
Anyone who receives a suspicious message purportedly from a church leader is advised not to respond and to contact the parish office or the chancery directly to verify the request.
The Church also reminded members to remain cautious on chat applications and to rely on verified CatholicSG channels for official updates.
The Church said it does not use private individual accounts to solicit funds, and encouraged the public to report suspicious activity, block suspected scammers and lodge appropriate reports.
According to the archdiocese, there was an increase in fraudulent emails in 2025 that falsely claimed to be from Cardinal William Goh, the head of the Catholic Church in Singapore. In April 2024, the Church had also warned of phishing scams linked to the late Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore in September 2024.
