1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201  ·   803-771-7800  ·       Clergy

Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
  • About EDUSC
    • Bishop Richards
    • 100th Diocesan Convention
    • Find a Church
    • Diocesan Staff
    • Governance
    • Diocesan Convention
    • Executive Council
    • The Episcopal Church
    • Events Calendar
    • Job Openings
  • News
    • Submit a Story Idea
    • Email Newsletter
    • Events Calendar
    • Communications Resources
    • Available Jobs in the Diocese
    • Submit Job Listing
  • Discipleship
    • Gathering in New Ways
    • Find a Church
    • Formation
    • Mission
    • Evangelism
    • Vocation & Ministry
    • Daily Prayer
  • Congregational Vitality
    • Find a Church
    • Stewardship
    • Congregational Resources
    • Clergy Resources
    • Financial Administration Resources
    • Liturgical Resources
    • Communications Resources
    • Safe Church Training
    • Reporting Misconduct
    • Vocational Discernment
    • Disaster Preparedness
  • Clergy

Email scam targets clergy, lay leaders

Diocesan House staff has heard from a number of clergy and lay leaders that they are receiving fraudulent emails that ask for money, gift cards, or other favors posing as Bishop Richards, or other clergy leaders. Please know that Bishop Richards has not sent these emails.

Other dioceses and religious organizations have reported similar incidents in the past. The scheme involves scammers mimicking church staff, typically posing as someone in a position of authority asking victims for money transfers or gift cards. Many times, the scammers will often manipulate the email address, name, or even the area code of phone numbers, so that it appears to be coming from someone you know.

Please note that these recent fraudulent emails have come from a Gmail account ([email protected]). You are able to report it as Gmail abuse here.

The best advice is to confirm requests with a conversation.
Even if the email or text seems legitimate, if a request seems even remotely "off," don't act on it until you confirm it with a phone call or face-to-face conversation. In the case of an alleged message from the Bishop-elect, you may want to reach out to a member of the bishop's staff, using the contact info in the staff directory.

Some general suggestions:

  • Check sender details carefully. Any suspicious emails or text messages should be investigated before replying. Pay attention to the message content, including attachments and URLs.
  • When in doubt, call: If there are questions about any email, do not reply. Instead, pick up the phone and call the main number of your diocesan office or parish.
  • Label it spam: If your email service has the ability, report the email as spam.

Here's how you can report these scams:
  • Report Phishing Attacks: the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has an Incident Reporting page to report email phishing, as well as an email to forward them to, at https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing.
  • Forward all emails to the Anti Phishing Working group at [email protected].
  • Report text scams to the Federal Trade Commission's Complaint Assistant which helps the FTC detect patterns of fraud and abuse.

Diocesan Calendar

Friday, 2/10 at 12:00 AM
SMASH! High School Retreat
Monday, 2/13 at 12:00 AM
Pre-Lenten Clergy Retreat
Thursday, 3/2 at 2:00 PM
DEC Executive Committee
Friday, 3/10 at 5:30 PM
Happening #88
Saturday, 3/18 at 9:30 AM
Diocesan Executive Council
Saturday, 3/25 at 10:00 AM
Diocesan Discernment Day
Sunday, 4/2 at 2:00 PM
Piedmont Convocation Meeting
Tuesday, 4/4 at 11:00 AM
Chrism Mass: Clergy Reaffirmation of Vows and Luncheon

SMASH! High School Retreat

Friday, February 10, 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

Pre-Lenten Clergy Retreat

Monday, February 13, 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

DEC Executive Committee

Thursday, March 2, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

Happening #88

Friday, March 10, 5:30 PM - 4:30 PM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

Diocesan Executive Council

Saturday, March 18, 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

Diocesan Discernment Day

Saturday, March 25, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

Piedmont Convocation Meeting

Sunday, April 2, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

Chrism Mass: Clergy Reaffirmation of Vows and Luncheon

Tuesday, April 4, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM



Add to My Calendar
-0500 America/New_York 0

Episcopal Diocese of
Upper South Carolina

1115 Marion Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tel: (803) 771-7800

Quick Links:

Diocesan Staff
Diocesan Events Calendar
Resources for Clergy
Submit Story to EDUSC News
Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Connect with EDUSC

Join EDUSC on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

  View Entire Post

Service Times

Find a Church

803-771-7800

Newsletter Signup

Liturgical Congregational Financial Administration Clergy & Spouses

This section includes the Bishop's Visitation schedule, Confirmation guidelines, Cycles of Prayer and other resources.

Liturgical Resources

Resources related to administration, communication, development, discernment, transition, grants, Safe Church Training, same-sex marriage and more.

Congregational Resources

Find the Statement of Mission, Business Manual, notes on Parochial Reports and more.

Financial Administration Resources

Resources for current clergy, retired clergy and clergy spouses.

Clergy & Spouse Resources