E-mail scam targets holiday giving

St. Paul, Minn. — Holiday e-mail scams are surfacing across Minnesota. Catholic Charities in the Twin Cities says someone is sending fraudulent emails claiming to be from the organization.

Rebecca Lentz, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities, says several different emails have surfaced, including one that says the recipient has won a prize. Lentz says the messages seek personal information, which she says her organization would never solicit in an e-mail.

Lentz suspects someone is using the Catholic Charities name because people tend to increase charitable giving around the holidays.