SUBIACO, Ark. — The Subiaco Abbey announced several scammers are using the identities of former and current monks for money. The abbey assured people this is "monastic cloning," and they have no money to offer.
"Several of our monks are being cloned... or at least their profiles are!" the abbey said.
One of the scammers is claiming to be Fr. Jerome through calls and other communication. The scammer said Jerome has thousands of dollars to share, but the recipient has to register and send $750 first to set up an account to receive the money.
"TRUST US... we have NO money to offer," the abbey said. "Fr. Jerome is very protective of the $5 that he DOES have."
When another person posed as Jerome, the scammer claimed he had graduated from St. Scholastica, which the abbey said was a former all-girls school.
"Fr. Jerome was surprised to learn that he was a 'school girl' as they are called," the abbey said.
Additionally, Subiaco Abbey said scammers are creating profiles under the names of deceased monks by using information from their obituaries. These profiles are also asking for money in some manner.
In response, the abbey has been removing information about the monks from its website to halt the cloning.
The abbey said they are grateful for those who have notified them of the scammers. They said if you have any questions about a monk contacting you, please give the abbey a call.
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