People in the dioceses of Chicago, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Southwestern Virginia, and Virginia, among others, have been receiving emails during the past few months, all sent under the names of legitimate individuals in Sudan. Some of the emails are "check-ins," asking the recipients why they haven't responded to earlier emails. Others claim that family members of the sender are ill, and ask that money be transferred to accounts immediately to pay for medicine or hospital stays.

"We don't know where these emails are coming from," said the Rev. Lauren R. Stanley, an Episcopal Church missionary who has served in Sudan. "They all come with the names of legitimate members of the clergy, sometimes from bishops, in Sudan, but they're all fake."

Stanley said that all of the emails come through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) called "graffiti.net," which is the first clue that the missives are fake. The second clue, she said, is that the return address is changed from known email addresses of partners in Sudan.

Furthermore, she said, "the language is not quite right. The mode of address in the letter is not what is normally used in Sudan, and the grammar is different from what most Sudanis speak."

Several of the emails are alleged to have originated with the Rt. Rev. Daniel Deng Bul, bishop of the Diocese of Renk, claiming his wife is ill. However, Jackie Kraus, a board member of the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (AFRECS), spoke with members of the bishop's family and discovered that the email was a fake. AFRECS sent out a warning to its members late last year, but the email scams continue.

Other emails use the names of Sudanese priests and bishops who have visited the United States. Recipients frequently, but not always, are Americans who have worked with Sudanese in the United States or have visited various areas of Sudan.

"We don't know how the senders got the email addresses in the U.S.," Stanley said. "Some of the recipients are involved in supporting the Church in Sudan, but not all of them. However, we do know that every single email has proved to be false."

Stanley said she is worried that some of these emails may contain viruses. "I've been warning people not to open these, and if they do, to immediately run a virus scan on their computers," she said.

Anyone who receives an email allegedly from Sudan, with a return address that includes "graffiti.net," should contact the alleged sender in Sudan before sending any money, Stanley said. "Some of the emails ask for checks, which is another tip-off that these aren't legitimate requests. American checks can't be cashed in Sudan."

Officials in the Episcopal Church of Sudan are aware of the scam, but have not been able to identify who is behind it, or where the perpetrators are getting the information.