McKINNEY, Texas (BNc) — On September 1st the e-mail addresses of brother Eugene Smith Jr were stolen and were used in an attempt to collect money in his name.

Everyone on the list was sent the message at the left. Any who responded were asked to send $1800. to a Western Union address in London. This was especially dangerous because brother Smith often makes evangelistic trips to Europe!

So far, we have not heard that anyone actually sent money, but brother Smith spent the whole day answering the phone and trying to warn those who were on his mailing list.

Another story used is that the person is in the hospital in some foreign city, and needs funds urgently.

Here are a few suggestions to keep from being deceived and robbed. First, try phoning the person in question. If you cannot reach him, check with some family member or Christian who knows the person well to verify the story. Second, never send money by Western Union unless you are absolutely sure of the identity of the person to whom you are sending the funds. It is possible to receive money anonymously via Western Union!

Most of these scams are done by people who are not native English speakers, so watch  for language mistakes the person would never make. Notice the bad grammar in this example, especially ‘a quick travel to London’.

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