Religious Tithe and Donation Scams via Phone Calls
How fraudulent callers impersonate religious leaders or church administrators to solicit tithes, emergency donations, and special collections by phone.
Part of: Religious Tithe and Donation Scams
Last reviewed: 8 June 2026
Tithing and regular financial giving are established practices in many faith traditions, and congregants who are accustomed to contributing regularly to their religious community may respond readily to a phone call from someone claiming to represent their place of worship or a connected religious organisation. Scammers exploit this existing relationship between religious communities and financial giving to conduct targeted phone-based fraud.
These calls can be broadly targeted — dialling from lists of known members of a denomination — or highly personalised, using information gathered from public social media, church websites, or data obtained through other means. The caller may reference the recipient's actual place of worship, their pastor's name, or recent community events to establish credibility before requesting a donation.
How this scam works on phone calls
A caller claims to be a church administrator, the pastor's assistant, a denominational representative, or an international religious charity affiliated with the recipient's faith community. They describe an urgent need: rebuilding after a fire or flood, supporting persecuted believers abroad, funding a special community project, or making up a budget shortfall before a financial year ends.
The caller may ask for a one-time tithe payment, a special emergency collection, or a monthly pledging commitment. Payment is requested by card over the phone, by bank transfer, or increasingly by gift card — an unusual request for a religious organisation that should itself be a red flag. Some callers claim they are calling on behalf of a well-known televangelist or nationally recognised religious figure, adding borrowed authority to the appeal.
After payment, the recipient may receive a follow-up call with a further appeal, or the number may become unreachable. Victims who contact their real church or denomination to discuss the appeal discover that no such collection was underway.
Common red flags
- Caller references your place of worship or denomination but you did not initiate contact
- Urgency language — a deadline for a special collection, a crisis that must be addressed today
- Payment is requested by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency rather than through normal church giving channels
- Caller is reluctant to provide a verifiable callback number for the organisation they claim to represent
- The call references your pastor or a religious figure by name, but the caller is not someone you recognise
- Request is for a new or unfamiliar type of collection not previously announced through official channels
How to protect yourself
- Hang up and call your place of worship directly using the number from their official website to verify whether the appeal is genuine
- Never pay tithes or religious donations by gift card, wire transfer, or over-the-phone card payment to an unsolicited caller
- Make all religious giving through your community's established and verified giving channels
- Ask your church leadership to communicate upcoming special collections in advance through official channels so members can identify unauthorised solicitations
- Report suspicious calls to your church administrator so they can warn the broader congregation
How to report it
- Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov for illegal solicitation calls
- Report to Action Fraud (UK) at actionfraud.police.uk if you have lost money
- Notify your denominational headquarters so they can issue a wider warning to affiliated congregations
- Contact local police if you can identify the caller's location or have other details that may assist investigation
Frequently asked questions
Would my real church ever call me to ask for an emergency donation by phone?
Some legitimate churches do make member calls for special appeals, but they will be happy for you to verify the request by calling back on the church's main number before donating. A genuine call will withstand this simple verification step.
Why do these callers sometimes know my pastor's name?
Pastors' and clergy names are often publicly listed on church websites, denominational directories, and social media. Fraudsters compile these details to make calls sound more credible than generic pitches.