SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. -- Spotsylvania County Public Schools were recently the victims of a phishing scheme via email, schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Baker confirmed in a statement.
School officials gave more than 600,000 to a scammer who they believed was the contractor who just put in a blue football field at Courtland High School, WJLA reports.
The money, which was a partial payment for the football field, was generated from a County bond approved by voters and sent to the bogus email account.
“It is actually stolen money and we were spoofed and it’s unfortunate,” said Director of Communications Rene Daniels with Spotsylvania County Public Schools.
“As soon as we became aware of this illegal activity, we immediately contacted the Spotsylvania County Sheriff Office and other appropriate agencies to report these crimes,” said the statement signed by Baker.
The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office has turned over the investigation to Virginia State Police.
In a statement, Virginia State Police confirms their Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Culpeper Field Office has initiated a criminal investigation regarding a phishing scam targeting the Spotsylvania County Public School system.
Officials say they began their investigation on August 1 and remains ongoing as they work to identify the cyber attacker.
State police are also investigating two other potential cyber phishing scams involving county employees. Officials say there is no evidence to suggest any of the three incidents are connected at this time.
