How Scammers Use AI and Cryptocurrency to Defraud Churches

In an age of rapid technological advancement, the tools meant to connect and empower us are being twisted for malicious purposes. While many faith-based organizations explore how to ethically integrate technologies like artificial intelligence, criminals are already weaponizing them. Recent data from law enforcement agencies shows a steady and alarming rise in cybercrime, with churches and their congregations increasingly finding themselves in the crosshairs.

Scammers are leveraging the sophistication of AI and the complexity of cryptocurrency to create frauds more convincing than ever before. Understanding how is the first critical step toward building a digital defense for your community. This post breaks down the high-tech schemes being used and provides actionable steps to protect your congregation.

The New Wave of Deception: AI-Driven Scams

Artificial intelligence has supercharged classic scam tactics, making them harder to detect and far more personal. Here are the primary threats to be aware of.

Deepfakes: The Impersonator in the Machine

The proliferation of “deepfake” software allows criminals to create hyper-realistic, AI-generated audio and video of pastors, church elders, or other trusted figures. With just a few audio or video clips scraped from online sermons, a scammer can clone a voice or create a video that appears completely authentic.

The goal is often one of the following:

• Financial Fraud: A fake video of a pastor makes an urgent plea for donations to a fraudulent account.
• Information Theft: A convincing audio message asks a church administrator to reveal sensitive congregant data.
• Reputational Damage: Fabricated videos are used to spread malicious rumors and discredit community leaders, as one prominent pastor recently claimed happened to him amidst a social media firestorm.

These deepfakes are spreading rapidly on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, often with little to no disclosure that they are AI-generated, deceiving countless viewers.

AI-Powered Phishing and Smishing

Fraudulent emails (phishing) and text messages (smishing) are not new, but AI has made them dangerously effective. In the past, these messages were often riddled with typos and grammatical errors. Now, AI can craft flawless, personalized messages that mimic the exact tone, style, and even the common phrases of the person being impersonated.

A common tactic involves an email, seemingly from the church pastor, asking a congregation member to purchase gift cards for a charitable cause and send them the codes. The AI can personalize the message based on the recipient’s public digital footprint, making the request seem legitimate. Once the gift card codes are sent, the money is gone forever. This breach of trust can lead to financial loss, malware infections, or even full-blown ransomware attacks on the church’s network.

The Crypto Conundrum: A Fertile Ground for Fraud

Cryptocurrency’s novelty and the general lack of public understanding make it a perfect vehicle for scammers. Its decentralized and often anonymous nature makes it difficult to trace and recover stolen funds.

Pump-and-Dump Schemes

In this classic market manipulation scam, perpetrators use social media and community forums to generate hype around a new, obscure cryptocurrency. They convince a group—like a church congregation—to invest, artificially inflating (“pumping”) the price. Once the value peaks, the scammers sell all their holdings (“dumping”), causing the price to crash and leaving investors with worthless tokens.

Insider Scams and False Promises

Tragically, some of the most devastating crypto scams targeting churches come from within. There have been several cases where pastors have exploited their positions of trust to defraud their own congregations. These schemes often involve promoting a worthless, self-created cryptocurrency, promising divine or guaranteed financial returns. In one instance, a pastor allegedly raised over $3 million for a token he claimed was God’s plan, only to divert most of the funds for personal use. Another roped his Spanish-speaking congregation into a complex crypto-based multilevel marketing scheme that ultimately collapsed.

“Pig Butchering” Scams Targeting the Vulnerable

While not exclusive to churches, the elderly members of your congregation are a prime target for “pig butchering” scams. This cruel tactic combines a romance or friendship scam with cryptocurrency fraud. A scammer builds a deep, trusting online relationship with a victim over weeks or months—a process they call “fattening the pig.” Once trust is established, they convince the victim to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency platform. The victim might see initial “profits” on a fake dashboard, encouraging them to invest more. When they try to withdraw their funds, the scammer disappears, taking everything.

Protecting Your Congregation: A Guide for Church Leaders and Members

Vigilance and education are the best defenses against these modern threats. Here are practical steps churches and their members can take to stay safe.

For Church Administration:

• Establish Clear Communication Protocols: Let your congregation know exactly how the church will—and will not—ask for donations. For example, state clearly: “We will never ask for gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency in an email or text message.”
• Secure Your Digital Assets: Ensure all church computers have up-to-date security software, use strong and unique passwords, and enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
• Protect Member Data: Be transparent about how member data is used. Avoid publishing a public directory with personal contact information on your website. Use a professional email management service instead of mass CC’ing congregants.
• Verify Urgent Requests: Create a policy that any unusual or urgent financial request made via email or text must be verified through a secondary channel, like a direct phone call to a known number.

For Congregation Members:

• Scrutinize Digital Content: When viewing videos, look for signs of a deepfake, such as unnatural eye movements, smooth or blurry skin textures, and audio that doesn’t perfectly sync with lip movements. Use a reverse image search tool to check if a photo or video has been manipulated.
• Beware of Unsolicited Contact: Be suspicious of messages from unknown senders or social media profiles that look too perfect (e.g., using professional model photos). If someone you meet online asks for money or investment advice, it is a major red flag.
• Limit Your Digital Footprint: The less information scammers can find about you online, the harder it is for them to personalize an attack. Consider making your social media profiles private.
• If It Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Is: Be extremely wary of any investment opportunity, especially in crypto, that promises guaranteed, high returns with little to no risk.

By fostering a culture of healthy skepticism and digital literacy, churches can create a strong defense, protecting their flock from those who seek to exploit faith for financial gain.