Be careful – Fraudulent money requests

There have been reports from parishioners across our diocese who have received phone calls, emails and texts from individuals claiming to be their pastor. The latest today was from a (518) area code asking for iTunes gift cards.  Usually the content of the message will include some form of request for money that is outside of the normal channels of giving, for example electronic gift cards for amazon or iTunes. These messages usually include some sense of urgency and may span over several emails, beginning with an inquiry like “Hi are you available? I have a quick request.”  Some of these fraudulent attempts have gone so far as to create email accounts which look very much like an official address.  Please be aware that neither our parish nor father will ever reach out to you directly via email text or social media for direct solicitation of gift cards, wire transfers or other electronic monetary transactions.  If you suspect you may have received a fraudulent request, or would like to confirm the genuineness of a message, please contact our parish office (315) 673-2531.  To report a fraudulent request please forward the message to: stop-fraud@syrdio.org