By COLlive reporter
A Lubavitcher is warning others after a man posing as a Chossid allegedly attempted to defraud him through an elaborate scheme involving a supposed donation to a well-known Chabad institution.
In a WhatsApp voice message circulated Tuesday, the man, who identified himself as “Moishy,” said he received a phone call from a man claiming to be collecting money for a respected Lubavitch institution.
The caller reportedly spoke using familiar Lubavitch terminology and told Moishy that the mosad urgently needed funds “before the new zman starts.” Moishy said he had no connection to the institution but decided to make a donation.
He asked the caller to send him a payment link. The caller allegedly responded that the link was not working and claimed he was sitting in the mosad’s office and could process the donation manually if Moishy provided his credit-card information.
Moishy said he provided a credit-card number.
The caller then claimed that the card was not working and asked for another card. Moishy said he provided a second credit-card number as well.
According to Moishy, the caller continued speaking in convincing Lubavitch terminology and gave his name as “Drizin,” a name Moishy later learned was not his real name.
The conversation then took an unexpected turn.
“You’re a shliach, I want to donate money to you,” the caller allegedly told him.
Moishy said he initially refused, telling the man that he was a bochur and did not want to take money from him. The caller reportedly responded that he had made a significant amount of money over the summer and wanted to make the donation as a favor to the rosh hamosad.
A short time later, Moishy received a Zelle notification indicating that a payment of $685 had been sent to him. The notification stated that the funds would not be available for up to 24 hours.
The caller immediately contacted him again, claiming he had made a mistake and sent too much money. He asked Moishy to return $285, saying he had intended to send only $400 and needed the money immediately to make a car payment.
Moishy refused.
“I don’t think so. When the money comes in, I’ll send it back,” he recalled telling the caller.
The caller continued insisting that he needed the money immediately. Moishy said he told him he did not have the money available and would return it once the Zelle payment cleared.
The caller then hung up.
Moishy immediately contacted the head of the mosad the caller had claimed to represent to verify the story. He was told that the fundraising request was not legitimate.
The incident left Moishy needing to cancel two credit cards after providing their information to the caller. The $285 the caller had attempted to have him return was never sent.
Moishy said the experience taught him a clear lesson: never provide credit-card information to someone who contacts you unexpectedly, even if the person sounds familiar, uses authentic-sounding Lubavitch terminology, or claims to represent a trusted mosad.
He urged others to independently verify donation requests by contacting the institution directly through a known phone number or official website. He also warned people to be particularly cautious when someone sends an unexpected electronic payment and then asks for part of the money to be returned before the original payment has fully cleared.
Moishy said he is sharing the incident as a warning to others and stressed that the specific mosad involved is not the point, since the same scheme could be carried out using the name of another institution in the future.
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