(DRAFFENVILLE, Ky.) – Marshall County Schools has issued an urgent warning to parents and students following a recent surge in phishing attempts targeting student email accounts across the district.
The school district announced the security alert after observing an increase in fraudulent emails designed to steal personal information and compromise student accounts. These sophisticated scams impersonate trusted organizations including schools, companies, and government agencies to deceive recipients into clicking malicious links or sharing sensitive data.
“Once a scammer gains access to an email account, they can use it to send additional phishing emails from a legitimate account, making these messages even harder to detect and more dangerous,” Superintendent Bill Thorpe explained in the warning.
Students Targeted with Fake Job Postings
The district specifically highlighted concerns about unauthorized job postings being circulated among students via email. School officials emphasized that students are not permitted to post or advertise job opportunities through school email systems, and urged recipients to treat such messages with suspicion.
District Provides Safety Guidelines
To help the school community protect themselves, Marshall County Schools outlined key warning signs and prevention strategies:
Red flags to watch for include:
- Unexpected or suspicious email attachments and links
- Sender addresses that closely mimic legitimate organizations
- Requests for personal information, passwords, or financial details
- “Too good to be true” offers promising prizes or money
- Messages sent to unusually large recipient groups
The district assured families that legitimate school communications will never request passwords, Social Security numbers, or financial information via email.
Community Response Encouraged
School officials are asking parents to discuss the cybersecurity risks with their children and ensure students understand the importance of protecting personal information online. Any suspicious emails should be reported immediately rather than responded to or forwarded.
“Taking a moment to slow down and carefully review emails can help protect you and our school community from scams and security risks,” Thorpe stated.
The warning comes as educational institutions nationwide face increasing cybersecurity threats, with student populations often viewed as vulnerable targets for online scammers seeking to exploit their relative inexperience with digital security practices.