Schools across East Staffordshire have been warned to be on their guard against fraudsters posing as head teachers to steal cash.

The scam sees a fraudster contact the person at a school who is responsible for finance. They do it via email posing as that particular school's head teacher requesting that money be transfered. The email addresses are often very similar and some schools have large sums of money as they have transferred cash unwittingly thinking they are doing it legitimately for the head teacher as part of normal school business.

Staffordshire Police issued now warning due to an increase in the number of reports nationally of this type of fraud.

The force said Staffordshire schools have been targeted in the past but not in the recent spate, but officers still wanted to take the opportunity to make sure they were being wary.

Scam Alert button on white computer keyboard
Staffordshire Police has warned schools of the scam

Scammers have been requesting a one-off, often urgent, bank transfer be made with amounts requested between £8,000 and £10,000, said the police spokesman.

Contact is made by email and from a spoofed or similar email address to the one the head teacher would use.

Police are advising these tips to schools to protect themselves against this fraud:

  • Ensure that they have robust processes in place to verify and corroborate all requests to change any supplier or payment details. They are advised to get in touch with the supplier (or internal colleague) directly, using contact details they know to be correct, to confirm that a request they have received is legitimate.
  • All employees should be aware of these procedures and encouraged to challenge requests they think may be suspicious, particularly urgent sounding requests from senior employees.
  • Sensitive information that is posted publicly, or disposed of incorrectly, can be used by fraudsters to perpetrate fraud. The more information they have, the more convincingly they can purport to be one of the legitimate suppliers or employees. Always shred confidential documents before throwing them away.
  • Email addresses can be spoofed to appear as though an email is from someone they know. If an email is unexpected or unusual, then don't click on the links or open the attachments. Staff should not be allowed to check emails from administrator accounts.

Anyone who suspects they have been a victim of fraud is asked to call Staffordshire Police on 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.