MONROE — The Monroe Police Department is warning residents of a local texting scam that targets church members.

The victims get a text message from their church leader, asking them to buy iTunes cash cards to help another church member who needs medical care, according to a statement released Thursday, Sept. 19, from Chief of Police Fred Kelley.

But the church leader never sent the messages. The scam is a ploy for the scammer to get cash by taking advantage of the text recipients’ sense of charity.

The scam victims “were asked to just provide the numbers from the back of the cash card so that the cash value can be redeemed,” Kelley wrote.

He cautioned people to always check out abnormal texts or calls, especially from anyone trying to get gift cards, personal information like PIN codes or money via Western Union, and report them to police if anything seems suspicious.