On Wednesday at 10:20 a.m., members of West Chicago Community High School were notified that a phishing email had been sent out to students with the intention of identity theft.
An email titled “HAYS PLC/DISTRICT 94 HOLIDAY ONLINE STUDENTS EMPLOYMENT,” sent by a d94 teacher, encouraged students to fill out a form that asked for personal information. This form has been confirmed as a scam by Director of Technology, Bob Schmidt.
The full text of the email is below:
If you are receiving this message, you received an email from a D94 Teacher with the subject “HAYS PLC/DISTRICT 94 HOLIDAY ONLINE STUDENTS EMPLOYMENT”
DO NOT FILL OUT THE FORM LINKED IN THE EMAIL
This is a phishing email meant to steal your personal information. It is VERY important that you let us know if you opened the email and filled out the form in the link.
If you did not open the link and fill out the form, please just delete the email.
Bob Schmidt
Director of Technology
Some students thought the email seemed suspicious from the get-go.
“I did receive an email, and I thought it was very obvious it was phishing because the heading had a bunch of random numbers. It literally says ‘HAYS USA RECRUITING PROJECT.’ Recruiting me for what?” senior Darsh Singh said.
Later, at 11:35 a.m., Communications Coordinator Brittney Walker sent out an informational email to students and parents. The email mentioned that the phishing message had requested bank information from students.
The full email by Brittney Walker is below:
Good morning, Wildcat Families
We are writing to inform you about a recent email phishing attempt that occurred within our school community. At approximately 7:45 a.m. an email was sent to students with the subject “HAYS USA RECRUITING PROJECT”. At the same time an email was sent to staff with the subject “DISTRICT 94 DECEMBER PAYROLL INCREASE ROSTER”.
Both emails contained a link that prompted recipients to provide personal information, specifically their name, gender, bank name, and home address. All students and staff were immediately notified to disregard the original message and any following correspondence. Our Technology team has taken action to address this issue and are working to remove the phishing email from all District 94 accounts.
We were made aware that some students responded to the email by filling out the linked form. Those who provided a phone number may have also received a text message. While the full extent of the incident is still under investigation, we want to assure you that our primary concern is the safety and security of our students. Should you have any additional questions in regards to this incident, please contact the head of our technology department at [email protected]
We are asking that all parents please speak with your students to assure they did not fill out the link they received in this phishing email. If they did, contact your bank immediately and take appropriate action to secure any account access.
WCCHS faculty are still investigating the incident and ask that parents and students refrain from opening the phishing email.
