Cybercrime targeting schools is on the rise and with the New Year is a new scam making the rounds. Knowledge is power when it comes to these kind of attacks, so we wanted to make sure that our schools are in the know about this latest attempt by fraudsters.
The most recent approach is for someone to ring the targeted school from the Department of Education (not the genuine Department for Education) requesting email contact details for the school’s Headmaster or Finance Administrator. They state the reason for requiring the direct email address and not just the school’s generic email is because they are sending across guidance forms containing sensitive information.
Once they receive the email address they will send an email containing a .zip file which could also be disguised as a Word or Excel file. The attachment will contain ransomware which once downloaded will encrypt files and then the fraudsters will demand up to £8,000 to recover them.
Contact us on 01903 767122 if you have any concerns.