ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Investigators are looking into a phishing scheme and mysterious envelopes delivered to Orange County Public Schools staff, according to district officials.
OCPS officials are warning staff of a phishing scheme in which an imposter poses as Superintendent Maria Vasquez and asks them to purchase gift cards as a surprise for staff.
News 6 caught up with Social Engineer CEO Chris Hadnagy — a.k.a. “The Human Hacker” — to get his take.
“This scam has been going for years. Since gift cards came out, this scam has been going,” Hadnagy said.
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Hadnagy said the imposters will use a trusted name to catch people off guard.
“That fear of maybe losing your job or disobeying a command from your boss is what they prey on,” Hadnagy said.
According to OCPS, the first report of an envelope came in on Thursday. A $10 bill, two letters asking for help with a form and a USB drive were inside.
Hadnagy was intrigued by the USB drive, but district officials were not able to confirm what was on it.
“If I had to guess, there was probably some malware or some ransomware on the USB key because that would make a lot of sense, right?” Hadnagy said. “If they can compromise the network on the system, then they can get more money.”
Officials said a Florida-based person’s name and P.O. Box were on the envelope but cannot confirm whether that’s who sent the envelopes to the schools.
District officials said the confirmed recipients include Timber Creek, Freedom and University High School.
News 6 reached out to the school board for comment. Board member Alicia Farrant told us district employees are aware of it and are looking into it to see where it is coming from.
According to the district, the USB has been sent to an outside security partner. They also tell us there is no data to support this is the result of a hack and there is no data to support OCP systems have been compromised.
Per the district, Orlando police are now involved in the case, as well.
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