We received a plea through a missionary mom from 2 people regarding a mission in a 3rd world country where fraudulent, so-called "charities" have taken advantage of, and in some cases, abused missionaries, and even their state-side families.

We have chosen to post their submissions here because of being applicable nearly everywhere we have missionaries.

First, the comment of a senior missionary:

"90% of the money to support the church all over the world comes from donations from Saints in the United States. Many of them are now making less money, have lost their jobs or are not quite so generous during this financial down-turn. We had three projects planned for our area and were told to choose only one. To qualify, the chosen project must cost less than $10,000 (USD) and that would be all we'd get this year. Also affecting this project, we have seen that many people would rather choose their own charitable projects outside their local area needs, instead of donating extra to the church welfare and humanitarian funds, or increasing their offerings to the general fund through tithes and offerings. As you might imagine, this affects how successful church efforts may be throughout the world. A word to the Saints who are putting their money towards charities not sponsored by the church: trust in the Prophet, the Quorum of the Twelve, and don't be influenced by television advertisers or other private charities and personal crusades. Follow the Prophet!"

"Members have big hearts and want to reach out to those in need. They just don't understand the levels of corruption that exist in other areas of the world and how their good deeds may do more harm than good for those serving in those areas of the world.

"It's not that they are opposed to having members help those in need, but we are not in these areas and we just don't know anything about the individuals running these "charities". They begin to put pressure on the missionaries to contact their parents for money and actually become relentless about it. I think our good missionaries have enough to do without this added pressure and worrying about their families at home being taken advantage of.

"There are many ways to become involved and help that will truly have lasting effects and be a true "aid" to the missionary efforts and benefit the members while building up the Lord's kingdom. I think the counsel to donate to the humanitarian and welfare branches of the church is the best way we can serve the entire kingdom allowing those with knowledge of the needs to make the right decisions.

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Betty,

I received this short email from a friend of mine named Janet. Someone duplicated their debit card and used it in Mexico. You may want to share her experience with your Email groups, especially since many missionaries carry debit cards for their personal accounts.

Thanks,

Ginger

Here is what she said:

Over the weekend, someone in Mexico decided to use our debit card and took over $1000 from our account before the bank caught it. The bank said the transaction records showed the card to be present. They say it was likely they took a picture of the card with a camera phone, or a good digital camera from a distance. There are crooks who will duplicate the card for the thief for a share of the 'profit'. They may have also had our pin #s somehow.

[Note:

1. There are some places that have 2 card readers; one for the cash register and one in their coat. they swipe the card for the purchase, then swipe it in their coat and it's saved for duplicating later. Protect your card from this tactic by never letting it leave your sight. Never use a card at a drive-up window, for example.
2. The pin is stored on the magnetic strip on the back, so all they might have to do is re-write the magnetic strip with the correct info and they don't need your pin. They use their 'own' pin.]

Janet

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Betty Pearson, Listowner, LDS Missionary Moms

Dear Moms,

One of the reasons we have this list is so that we can share advice and information with each other. Most of the time the advice is positive and the experiences are great! Every once in a while, though, we share things that are a little more difficult to handle. This is one of those times.

In The White Book, missionaries are advised not to give or loan money to members or the people they work with. That same advice needs to be given to RMs and the families of missionaries. My daughter and her husband, who served in Chile, decided to help one of his former companions come to the States. He ("Spencer") is an outstanding young man and they wanted to help him fulfill his dream of coming to America and getting an education. They sent him $1500 to get the ticket, passport and Visa.

One of the members from Chile called our son-in-law to talk and he told her about "Spencer." She volunteered to help "Spencer" get his visa. She said she knew all of the ropes. They were really glad to have her help. She went and got the $1500 from Spencer and told him she would take care of everything. Maria told my daughter and her husband there were some additional fees they needed to pay which would require another $1,000. It took almost everything they had, but they came up with it.

Then she told them that the government would not allow "Spencer" to leave Chile unless he owned a piece of property. Maria volunteered to sign her home over to "Spencer" so that he could meet that requirement. A few weeks later she showed up in Salt Lake. She stayed at the Marriott, and spent a LOT of money. A few days later, she came to our kids panicked. Her property had been confiscated by the Chilean government! It seems that there is a law in Chile which states that if a person is in debt, his children's property could be confiscated to pay the debt.

Her home was gone because "Spencer's" father was in debt. A call to Chile to "Spencer" uncovered the fact that he knew nothing about any of this, that he'd never received any papers or even a penny of the money back from her, and his father was NOT in debt.

It was obivous--there was a corrupt person there in Chile and Maria had to fly home immediately to straighten things out. She asked my children for the money to fly home and told them she would do a bank transfer as soon as she arrived. She just needed their bank information. They spent $1000 to send her home and gave her their bank account number and his Social Security number. you've guessed by now, it wasn't a corrupt government worker who was the problem. It was her.

You can not imagine what this did to our son-in-law. This was a woman he trusted completely. He taught her the discussions and baptized her. She was his convert! She was active in the church. She went to the temple with them. You need to understand that my children are not naive people. They had no reason NOT to trust her--she played her part perfectly. She was the consummate con artist.

Our son-in-law started contacting other RMs she had visited while she was here and discovered that she had scammed another one of them for $4,000.

Two days ago they learned through a third party that Maria is returning to the states. She called another RM and asked if she could stay with him. He didn't let on that he knew what she had done...

If you are contacted by someone, or if your returned missionaries are approached by members of the church where they served asking for money, PLEASE refer them to their local Bishop or Stake President. Some members of the church will take advantage of others. Most people are honest and upright, but not all. If you ever get a letter asking for money, or if your returned missionaries get letters or phone calls requesting money, let your Bishops know about this.

I don't want to start a panic, because most members are good and honest, but you just don't know. Please be careful and follow the advise of the brethren. Don't let yourselves be conned. It hurts too much. It destroys your faith in yourself and tarnishes the memories you have of your mission.

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Some families have found that if a debit card is lost or stolen, the bank won't work with you unless you have a signed Power of Attorney form to give them. Another solution for the bank account is to be a joint owner of the account.

One benefit is you can submit tax forms, if it becomes necessary.

There are times you can't forsee when this will save a lot of grief.

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We bank with Universal Community Credit Union in Provo, UT. Their policy is that disputes can be made to them within 60 days, but they're giving us a special "deal" to dispute them out 120 days. Fortunately there has never been a balance of over $100 unless our missionary specifically told us he was going to have to pull money out for something or another, so it isn't a huge loss (about $120.00). But it's frustrating and another reminder to be especially diligent with your money and your accounts and your cards. Monitor everything frequently. Vigilence is absolutely required in this day and age. Remind your kids, and especially remind your missionaries if they are in a foreign country where the regulations may not be so stringent.

Until we can get his new card processed and sent down to him (here goes another $100 package . . . I guess it can be for his birthday LOL), he does have his American Express card he can use if he has an emergency, or if he ends up needing more than the 4500 pesos for his dentist appointment; there are a couple of larger banks that he can go to and get cash which is probably a better idea than just using the card at a store, since I don't trust them to not steal his number.

Vicki

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