Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office notified Chicago aldermen on Friday afternoon that somebody has been using a fake email account in her name.
“It has come to our attention that a fake Mayor Lightfoot email address has been created and emails have been sent out under this address,” the email to the city’s 50 aldermen said. “Please be very careful when opening emails from external, non-city accounts.”
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In the message, Lightfoot’s office added, “The mayor will only use a city email account to communicate with you about city business.”
In a statement, Lightfoot’s office said the administration alerted all aldermen to make them aware of the matter and “they should be careful when opening emails from external, non-City accounts, and we provided additional guidance from the City’s Cyber Safety Newsletter on how to protect against potential phishing and fraudulent emails.”
It’s not clear which aldermen were contacted through the account and whether the emails were potentially harmful if opened.
Southwest Side Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, a frequent Lightfoot critic who has clashed with her since the beginning of her administration, joked about it on Twitter.
“Oh what the hell….even fake Lori doesn’t talk to me,” he wrote.
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