This article is still one of my most popular articles ever written, according to the number of hits I receive. It is amazing to me that this SCAM-EMAIL still receives interest from the public at large. Even more amazing are the inquiries I receive from people like the following received today (email address and name partially redacted):

From: susan[...]@yahoo.com
To: robot terror
Subject: Catholic Church giving out donations

Received this Catholic church giving out donations. Checked www.snopes.com
and www.truthorfiction.com. There was no mention of this one.
Is your website saying this is not true?

Thanks,
Susan [...]

Yes, Susan and so many others asking the same thing, this email solicitation claiming that the Catholic Church is giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to people after scouring grocery receipts for people's contact information is FALSE and a SCAM.

I am happy you have learned to research these too-good-to-be-true stories. While I cannot speak for Snopes or TruthOrFiction, the fact that this particular scam is not listed on their sites could possibly be related to the utter ridiculousness of the idea that an entity claiming to be a joint task-force of Catholic, European Union and West African governments would hand out large amounts of US Currency to strangers via email based on grocery receipts. Perhaps they figured it would not be necessary to expose this scam.

I am here to tell them, if my assumption is correct, that they are WRONG. Exposing even this third-rate Nigerian 419 scam is necessary. I have no idea why it is. But, it is necessary.

Yours, truly,

Robot Terror