Scam Alert: Cybercriminals Exploit Death of Pope Francis to Target Small Business Owners with Fake Loan Programs

In a troubling new scam detected by Bitdefender Antispam Lab, cybercriminals are exploiting Pope Francis's recent passing to deceive small business owners. The phishing email campaign uses emotional manipulation and false promises of financial support to lure victims into their trap

The Scam Email: ‘A Legacy of Care and Hope’

The fraudulent email, sent under the subject line "A Legacy of Care and Hope," falsely claims to honor the memory of Pope Francis while promoting a non-existent "Vatican Business Support Program." The scam alleges that Pope Francis personally endorsed a program offering low-interest loans between €100,000 and €30 million for small businesses engaged in sustainability, ethical practices, and community support.

The message encourages business owners to contact an email address using a Hotmail domain, a major red flag, as official Vatican communications would never use such services.

Here’s an excerpt from the scam email:

"Before his passing, he supported the Vatican Business Support Program, which began two months ago. This initiative offers low-interest loans between (€100,000 and €30,000,000) to over 2,500 business owners that focus on sustainability, ethical business, and supporting their communities."

Once a victim replies, scammers are likely to demand upfront “processing fees,” request sensitive business or financial information, or engineer further fraud schemes.

This scam stands out for several reasons: In addition to the initial emotional impact, the scammers leveraged the death of the beloved religious leader and a reference to the Vatican to give the scam artificial credibility. The scam is also relevant to small business owners who might be seeking growth opportunities in this highly volatile economic climate.

The passing of Pope Francis was a moment of mourning for millions around the world. Sadly, it also created an opportunity for scammers to prey on the trust of small business owners with carefully engineered business loan scams.

Here are a couple of red flags you need to know to avoid loan scam traps:

You can read more about loan scams in our dedicated article:

Protect Your Business from Loan Scams: 5 Security Checks

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