Phishing scams target educational institutions, exploiting the sensitive data they manage, such as student records and financial documents, and their reliance on digital systems. Limited IT resources and constrained cybersecurity budgets make schools especially vulnerable. The education sector faces significant risks, with the average cost of a data breach reaching $3.8 million, according to IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report.
Recognizing and reporting phishing threats is crucial to safeguarding your school community. Here are some common phishing scams, their potential impact, key warning signs, and provides actionable guidance on training staff and building a resilient, security-minded culture.
Common Phishing Scams That Target Schools
Cybercriminals frequently use these phishing tactics to target educational institutions:
Impersonation of school staff or administrators – Cybercriminals may impersonate principals, superintendents, or department heads, using realistic language and spoofed email addresses to request sensitive information, approve transactions, or prompt urgent actions. These attacks are often highly personalized to increase their effectiveness.
Fake IT or technical support emails with requests for password resets –These emails impersonate trusted platforms or internal IT, urging recipients to click links to reset passwords or verify accounts, often using urgent language to prompt quick, unverified action.
Sending messages with malicious links or attachments – These communications can include files or links containing malware or directing users to fraudulent websites. Because they appear to come from trusted contacts or vendors, recipients are more likely to open them.
QR code phishing – Cybercriminals are increasingly using QR codes in emails and other messages to direct users to malicious websites. Because QR codes can evade traditional link scanning tools, these attacks are often more difficult to detect.
- Phony job offers, prized, or grant opportunities – These schemes target staff or students with fraudulent offers, prompting victims to share sensitive information or pay upfront fees under the guise of legitimacy.
- Event-based scams – They exploit school events, payroll updates, and health alerts to create urgency and increase the likelihood of a quick response, prompting users to share sensitive information without careful review.
- AI-generated phishing – Attackers now use AI-generated messages that closely mimic familiar communication styles, making them highly personalized and increasingly difficult to detect. This sophistication raises the risk of individuals unknowingly sharing sensitive information.
The Consequences of Phishing Attacks
If a school experiences a phishing attack, significant consequences can result, including:
- Data breaches and identity theft – Phishing attacks can expose sensitive student, staff, and faculty information, such as Social Security numbers, grades, and financial or health records, resulting in identity theft and reputational harm.
- Financial loss – Schools face risks of financial loss from fraudulent transfers, payroll redirection, or compromised payment systems, as well as exposure to fines, penalties, and legal expenses.
- Disruption of learning and operations – Phishing incidents can disrupt access to critical learning and administrative systems by causing outages, account lockouts, or ransomware attacks, delaying instruction, assessments, and essential communications while impacting academic performance and institutional reputation.
- Loss of trust – A loss of confidence in the institution’s ability to safeguard sensitive information can affect enrollment, employee retention, and community support.
- Legal and regulatory consequences – Educational institutions face strict data protection requirements. A phishing incident can result in regulatory violations, costly investigations, penalties, and potential lawsuits due to non-compliance.
- Increased IT and security expenses – Cyberattacks often force schools to allocate significant resources to cybersecurity, staff training, and incident response, placing additional strain on limited budgets.
Training Teachers and Staff
To reduce phishing risk, provide school staff with regular, interactive training on how to identify and report suspicious activity. Training should be engaging and actionable, including:
- Information on spotting signs and red flags of phishing messages – Train personnel to spot common signs of phishing, such as urgent requests for immediate action, poor grammar or spelling, unfamiliar sender addresses, generic greetings, unexpected requests for confidential information, and suspicious attachments or links.
- Learning about real-world phishing examples – They illustrate real-world examples of cybercrime and highlight their potential impact.
- Simulated phishing tests – These exercises help employees recognize and report suspicious communications.
- Verification protocols – School personnel should be trained to carefully verify the authenticity of requests by contacting the sender or closely examining domain names, before responding or clicking on any links.
It’s essential to provide regular cybersecurity training updates to address evolving threats, and ensure training is included in onboarding and whenever an employee transitions to a new role.
Building a Phishing Resilient School Culture
Establishing a phishing-resilient school culture strengthens your cyber defenses. Consider initiatives such as:
- Encourage transparent reporting. Foster an environment where staff, faculty, and students can report suspicious activity confidently and without fear of retaliation. Ensure clear reporting channels and provide frequent reminders to encourage proactive communication.
- Foster collaboration between teachers, admin staff, and IT for early threat detection. Promote ongoing communication between departments to quickly identify and address cyber threats. Shared responsibility enhances awareness and speeds response.
- Leverage technology. Implementing anti-phishing solutions and multifactor authentication helps safeguard your organization against cyber threats and strengthens your cybersecurity defenses.
- Incorporate student and parent/guardian training to further strengthen schoolwide cyber hygiene. Educate students and parents/guardians on essential cybersecurity best practices with interactive lessons and activities—empowering them to build a safer, more resilient digital community.
- Implement regular system audits. Conduct regular audits to identify vulnerabilities, address issues promptly, and ensure ongoing compliance.
- Back up data. This helps safeguard your institution’s data after a breach, protecting against complete data loss in the event of a phishing attack.
Conclusion
Training staff to identify and report phishing scams is essential to protecting school networks and safeguarding sensitive information. By promoting ongoing cybersecurity awareness, schools establish a resilient frontline defense against evolving threats. Download the bulletin for more details.
