ABUJA, Nigeria — The Anglican Church of Nigeria is warning people to beware of e-mails from “fraudulent personalities” hoping to exploit “Christian love and the good name of the church.”
The trend to lure unsuspecting Christians into donating money to phony African causes grew to an alarming rate in 2005, according to a public “disclaimer” posted on the Anglican church’s Web site and dispatched to news outlets throughout the world.
“The church advises the general public to verify identities of people before sending money to fraudsters who have not the slightest belief in God, but are only trying to use church sentiments to lure people,” said Canon AkinTunde Popoola, director of communications, in a statement.
Anglican ministers and church members in Nigeria, the world’s second-largest Anglican province, would not send unsolicited mail seeking or offering money to strangers, the statement said. Recipients of such mail should alert the authorities or check the validity of the sender through “organized structures” within the church.
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