Cyber criminals target Adventist Church funds

January 02, 2014 – Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Author: ANN staff

Image by Adventist News Network

The world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventists Church has been the victim of cyber theft which has defrauded the church of approximately U.S.$500,000. The theft involved funds that were being transferred on behalf of a denominational entity.

Church officials are cooperating with federal authorities in the ongoing investigation and working with the banks and insurance companies to determine what recoveries may be possible. Although it cannot be ruled out at this time, indications do not suggest any insider involvement.

“No personal information such as private information, personal donor records or internal accounts were accessed or compromised in the scheme,” said Adventist world church treasurer Bob Lemon. “We are modifying procedures to do our best to prevent this from happening again.”

Seventh-day Adventist Church membership officially reached 18 million members last month and is represented in more than 200 nations.