In a world increasingly connected through social media, scammers are also finding new avenues and adapting to the digital world around them.
It's easy to create a Facebook account and worse, in social media, anyone can make a fictitious account and use it for dishonest purposes.
Take the case of a woman who says she almost got scammed in Oklahoma City through Facebook messages she initially thought were coming from a well known pastor, Craig Groeschel, of LifeChurch.tv.
According to a NewsChannel 4 report, Beth Gentry, a native of Oklahoma City, says she almost got scammed after connecting with what she thought was Groeschel.
"[On Facebook] they send you people they suggest be friends, and Craig Groeschel was on there," Groeschel told NewsChannel 4. "And I thought, wow, and I was surprised because I figured his friends would be maxed out being the person that he is, so I went ahead and sent a friend request to him."
However, things started to get weird when the person who posed as Groeschel suddenly asked Gentry for money. That rang alarm bells for Gentry.
Gentry said the scammer initially sent her a beautiful prayer including some scriptures, but his tone quickly changed.
She said the scammer asked her to donate money for an African orphanage because her soul's salvation depended on it.
"[H]e was like I had this revelation. Can you send me several hundred dollars to an orphanage in Africa?" Gentry said.
The scammer told her that the pastor's public relations staff would call her if Gentry gave her number.
When she called the scammer out, they then apparently told Gentry she was not worthy to be called a Christian and suggested the church would preach against her from the pulpit.
Patrick Allmond, a social media expert, told NewsChannel 4 that social media has presented scam artists with a new platform to try their schemes. The challenge, he said, is that anyone can create a fictitious account and assume the identity of another person.
Pastor Craig is a popular church figure and LifeChurch.tv's services are located all around Oklahoma.
Allmond reminded social media users to be careful about the people and organisations they engage with through social media, and to check they are who they say they are, something the official blue tick can help with.
In a statement to NewsChannel 4, LifeChurch.tv said it was working with Facebook to have fake accounts using Groeschel's name removed.
"Though neither Craig Groeschel or LifeChurch.tv have had any of our social media accounts hacked, people unfortunately continue to create fake accounts impersonating Craig and other pastors," it said.
"We work with Facebook to remove the fake accounts, and they have designated Craig's official account as verified. Under no circumstances would Craig or any LifeChurch.tv pastor ask for donations via private Facebook messages.
"We caution people to never respond to a private Facebook solicitation that appears to come from Craig, and to instead report it to Facebook."
