Fraudulent e-mail and social media communication - Warning!

From:           Neil MacCarthy, Director, Public Relations & Communications

Date:             March 1, 2024

Re:                 Fraudulent Facebook and E-mail accounts - Archbishop Francis Leo

We have been made aware that a Facebook account and e-mail communication purporting to come from Archbishop Leo are circulating to parishes and members of the Catholic community throughout the archdiocese.

To be clear, Archbishop Leo does not have a Facebook account. Any official e-mail correspondence should come from an archtoronto.org email address. The fraudulent e-mails come from a gmail account and are similar to those we have seen in the past where priests or bishops have been impersonated.

You may wish to communicate this to your community through a suggested announcement below. Thank you for your ongoing co-operation.

Fraudulent e-mail and social media communication - Warning

In recent days, a Facebook account and e-mail communication claiming to come from Archbishop Leo have been circulating through the Catholic community. Archbishop Leo does not have a Facebook account and any official e-mail correspondence should come from an archtoronto.org e-mail address. If you receive fraudulent correspondence, please delete the content from your inbox.

Sadly, we have seen this type of fraudulent activity target priests and bishops on a regular basis. Please review the e-mail address on your correspondence and be mindful of these impersonation accounts.