PRIVACY BREACH – CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL PARISH
We are writing to inform you of a privacy incident involving your personal information.
On Tuesday 16 June 2026, unfortunately due to human error, there was an accidental release of all parishioners’ names and contact details to an unauthorised (scam) email address. As soon as we became aware of the situation, we took immediate steps to investigate and to prevent any further issues.
What we have done:
- We have taken immediate steps to contain the issue, including attempting to recall the message and requesting recipients delete it.
- We are notifying the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and working with the Diocesan Privacy Officer to ensure we meet all reporting requirements.
- We are reviewing our internal processes to prevent this from happening again.
What this means for you:
At this stage, we believe the risk is low/moderate, however we recommend remaining cautious of:
- Unexpected contact saying they are from the parish
- Suspicious emails referencing this information
- Email/texts from the priests asking you to reply or for money or to buy gift cards.
- Phone calls or texts asking you to log on to a bank account.
- Phone calls or texts asking you to log onto your computer so that an update can be installed.
What we are doing next:
- Conducting a full internal review
- Reinforcing staff training and controls around email/data handling
Our priests would only ever contact you from the parish email domain of cathedralparish.nz e.g. adm@cathedralparish.nz
If you have any concerns about how your personal information has been handled, you have the right to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) for advice or to make a complaint. You can reach them by:
- Phone: 0800 803 909
- Website: www.privacy.org.nz
Protecting your personal information is a priority for the parish.
We sincerely apologise that this occured and for any distress or anxiety this breach may cause you .
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kirsten Tester, our Privacy Office at Cathedral Parish, on ktester@cathedralparish.nz or 03 595 1053.
Yours sincerely
Fr Simon Eccleton
Catholic Cathedral Parish
CATHEDRAL ADMINISTRATOR