Fairfax County Public Schools apologized for testing teachers by sending out a phishing attempt on the last day of school.
Teachers received an email that appeared to be from the school system offering “employee gift cards as a thank you for another successful school year.” But there were no gift cards. Instead, it was a “phishing” test of the school system trying to see if teachers would fall for it.
“What they told me was that it was disrespectful and it’s almost like a slap in the face,” said Leslie Houston, president of the Fairfax Education Association.
The official pointed out that teachers are leaving the industry and that incidents like this do not help.
“You don’t feel really appreciated, why are you going to stay?” he questioned. “Even though we’re here for the kids and it’s about the kids, you want to be respected in your work.”
Phishing It is a computer term that is defined as a trap to obtain access codes from users in order to appropriate their identity.
The superintendent sent an apology letter to the students that read in part: “Allow me to offer my deepest apologies for the phishing email sent today. While I understand the need for increased cyber security, this morning’s message is unacceptable for a variety of reasons and on multiple levels and should not have been sent.”
“Know that you and your work are deeply appreciated,” the letter reads. “Thank you for all you’re doing.”
Another teacher told our sister network NBC Washington that he knew immediately the email was fake, but still found it hurtful.
“I found out that not only was it not actually a gift card, but it was actually his employer basically trolling him,” said Fairfax County Federation of Teachers President David Walrod. “It wasn’t a great feeling.”
