Maharashtra News: Vasai Bishop's Phone Hacked; Church Warns Members Against Fraudulent Donation Calls

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Vasai, Thomas D'Souza, has become a victim of phone hacking. On Sunday, D’Souza, who was appointed as the head of the diocese of Vasai in November 2024, told fellow church members not to respond to messages, calls, or any communication from his number till the culprits are caught and his mobile phone number restored.

“It has come to our urgent attention that my phone number has been compromised and is being misused to send fraudulent messages and unauthorised communications,” said D’Souza in a message, adding that he and the diocese of Vasai will not acknowledge, support, or take responsibility for any activity conducted using his phone number from June 21.

The matter has been reported to the local cyber authorities who have been asked to block and recover the number. “I urge all priests, religious, parishioners, and members of the public to disregard any message or request received from my number. Please report suspicious content immediately to the local authorities,” he said in his message.

In the past, members of the Roman Catholic clergy have been targeted by fraudsters. Earlier this month, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, the apex bodies of the church, warned members about financial fraudsters impersonating senior church officials.  The CBCI said that the fraudsters contact people to use online links to join virtual meetings organised by the church. The victims were asked to click on the links and share a one-time password with the caller.

Noel Dabre, an advocate and a resident of Vasai, said that members of the clergy are a new target for fraudsters. “Phones of many members of the clergy have been hacked. This is because priests receive donations on their phone numbers. The criminals know that and have developed this modus operandi. The church has asked members not to send donations on phone numbers,” said Dabre.