USD 253 Emporia is informing district families of a recent security breach involving school emails.
According to a message sent to district parents, District Community Relations Director Lyndel Landgren stated the incident occurred on January 6th when an unidentified “Outside individual briefly gained access to a school email account.” Landgren says the individual used that account to send false employment opportunity emails to several students, asking them to share personal information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and banking details.
Landgren says the compromised account was secured and all students who opened the email were contacted and made aware of the situation and encouraged to speak with a trusted adult or school staff member if they responded to the email. The news release does not say if any students were compromised as a result of the phishing effort.
The district is advising parents to speak with their students and remind them to be vigilant of offers that look too good to be true and to never share their personal information via email or text, especially if they have no prior contact with the entity seeking such information. Parents with questions or concerns can contact the USD 253 Technology Department at 620-341-2244.
