Pastor wires $800 in scam

The woman said her car had broken down in Dayton.
ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) -- A pastor wired $800 to help a woman who claimed she and her five children were stranded only to find out later that he was the latest victim of a scam that has hit churches in two states.
The Rev. Samuel King of St. Mark's Church of God in Christ said he got a call last month from someone who claimed to be Bishop Benjamin Travis of Philadelphia. The caller said his niece was on her way to Anderson to begin a new job.
The Rev. Mr. King did not know Bishop Travis, so he asked him questions about the church. The caller was able to give the church's presiding bishop, the bishop in Mr. King's jurisdiction, information about Mr. King's church and more.
The man asked Mr. King to help his niece find a house in the city about 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. He also asked that Mr. King suggest a bank to deposit the $17,000 she had saved.
About an hour later, the supposed niece, Diane Scott, called Mr. King. She said her car had broken down and she and her children were stuck in Dayton.
Wired the money
The woman said she could not cash her $17,000 check, so the mechanic would have to hold her car. Mr. King then spent $56 to wire her the $800.
He found out later that Travis really is a Philadelphia bishop, but someone had stolen his identity and done research on the church.
Anderson police Sgt. William Casey said that churches in Kokomo, Marion, Fort Wayne and Dayton have all been targets of similar stories.
"Our church is prone to helping our church members; if somebody is stranded, if somebody calls us for a reference, we usually try to help," Mr. King said. "I didn't want to make my church look bad for leaving five children stranded."