SINGAPORE, July 6 -- The Catholic Church in Singapore has raised the alarm over a spike in fraudulent e-mails impersonating Cardinal William Goh, urging the public to be vigilant amid a broader rise in online scams.

In a notice issued on Friday, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore said the fake e-mails, which falsely claim to be from the archbishop, are part of increasingly sophisticated phishing attempts.

Reverend Terence Pereira, chancellor of the archdiocese, stressed that all legitimate e-mail communication from Cardinal Goh or his office comes exclusively from the catholic.org.sg domain.

"Any e-mail originating from a different domain should be considered inauthentic," said Reverend Pereira.

The Church advised members of ...