2 local schools send memos to parents about cyber incidents
Two local school districts have recently sent memos to families regarding cyber incidents, as investigators continue to report an ongoing increase in cybercrimes.
In the Deer Lakes School District, a letter to families stated that leaders are “working around the clock to restore our operations to full capacity,” following a “cyber incident” from weeks ago.
Meantime, in the Fox Chapel School District, families received a message asking that they “not respond directly to any email requesting personal information about you and/or your child.” The message indicated that the district’s insurance carrier had alerted leaders to a recent “scheme” in which more than 10 other districts reported that parents were being contacted by “what appears to be a district employee (usually a teacher or principal) via email asking for information on either themselves or their child.” Those emails reportedly looked authentic, using real district names and logos.
A Fox Chapel spokesperson told Channel 11 that FCASD “was not affected and merely sent its families reminder information.”
The FBI is not able to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, but did speak with Channel 11 generally about cybercrimes.
In our region in 2022, approximately 134 victims lost an estimated $131,000 from phishing scams, according to FBI data.
Phishing occurs when a fraudster poses as someone else or a reputable agency and sends a phony message. Some scams are quite sophisticated, and messages can seem legitimate.
“They might be gaining access to an email account of someone that you know, or a business you might deal with regularly, and they’ll send these phishing messages from those legitimate accounts,” said Supervisory Special Agent Jonathan Holmes. “Or, these individuals might be sending you messages from email accounts that are spoofed or appear to be very similar to those accounts used by a business or a family member or a friend that you interact with regularly.”
Scammers sometimes request your personal information, including your usernames and passwords to your email account, so “they can monetize access to that account,” he said. Sometimes, scammers pose as banks, requesting your account information in order to steal your money.
“You should definitely be on alert to messages that you’re receiving, especially if they don’t appear legitimate,” Holmes said.
Emails that request personal information should be considered red flags. He advised people to be cautious when it comes to any links within a message.
“If you suspect that you are in receipt of a phishing message, it’s always good to go back to the original company or the original source to make sure that that is a legitimate email,” he said.
Holmes also suggests using two-factor authentication to protect your online accounts. That way, a scammer is less likely to gain access to accounts, even if they have your log-in information.
Holmes also advises anyone who has fallen victim to a cyber scam to contact that Internet Crimes Complaint Center. Complaints can be filed by visiting https://www.ic3.gov/
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