Scammers dressing as nuns demand church donations

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla.- A southwest Florida church is warning the community about a major scam.

Two women, dressed as nuns, are knocking on doors aggressively asking for money. They say they’re looking for donations for St. Raphael’s Church, but the church says it’s all a lie.

“It’s not just a human issue but it’s a spiritual issue,” said Earl Smith, a lector and Eucharistic minister at area parishes.

Parishioners were warned at Saturday night’s mass about the scam. The two women are believed to be in their early 20s, dressed  as nuns and claiming to be sent by the church.

Victims of the scammers tell church officials the women are very persistent, even walking in to their living rooms demanding cash, credit card number and even offering to drive people to the ATM to withdraw money.

“I just feel that whoever is doing that is taking advantage of the people, the parishioners at St. Raphael’s. It just depicts how desperate people are in the world, in our society, that they will go and try to use the Catholic church to use other people,” said Smith.

People who go to the church say they know for certain that this is a scam because there is only one nun currently in town and she does not fit the description.