Mesa church nearly lost final mortgage payment after scamming ploy

MESA, AZ — A Mesa church was on the verge of paying off its sanctuary when hackers diverted its final $82,000 mortgage payment using fraudulent email instructions.

Brown Road Baptist Church was ready to make the final payment in April. Church leaders believe a computer involved in the payment was infected with malware, which allowed hackers to send fake wire transfer instructions.

Betty Lippenga, the church’s treasurer, said she called the lender to confirm everything was in order. The lender told her payment instructions would arrive by email, but the instructions that came were not from the lender.

“I was sick to my stomach. I cried and prayed all night,” Lippenga said.

“I blamed myself for not being more vigilant. I feel it’s my job, and I’m doing it for the Lord. I need to be stronger than what I am normally,” Lippenga said.

The church has always paid its mortgage by wire transfer, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the time.

Pastor Alan Thompson said the church does not blame its treasurer, but losing $82,000 was a moment of panic.

“My goal through all of this is to warn other churches or other people. We have to be careful. In a very innocent way — we’re not idiots here. We didn’t get frauded. We got scammed,” Thompson said.

Mesa police were able to freeze the account the hackers used — an account police believe was also hacked.

Detective Kent Green, who works in Mesa’s Financial Crimes Unit, said the attack likely started with a single click.

“It likely happened from someone on one side or another simply clicking on a link they didn’t mean to,” Green said.

Green said this was a bank-to-bank wire transfer, which is easier to stop than other online scams — but only if victims move quickly.

“Time is of the essence. If they had waited, maybe a few more days, maybe a week, that money would not have been frozen,” Green said.

Investigators recommend being careful when sending money online and watching for subtle changes, such as altered account numbers or an email address that doesn’t look authentic. The church’s business office is now making all large payments by mailing traditional checks.

Law enforcement officers recommend that victims of online crimes contact the FBI’s Online Crime Center portal. 

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