How to Prevent Phishing Attacks in School Emails
Phishing attacks target students, teachers, and school staff by tricking them into clicking malicious links, entering passwords, or sharing personal information. Schools are especially vulnerable because they often rely on email for communication, and attackers know that students may be less trained in spotting scams.
This guide explains what phishing is, how to recognize it, and how schools can protect their users and systems.
1. What Is Phishing?
Phishing is a cyberattack where someone pretends to be a trusted person or organization to steal information such as:
Email passwords
Student portal credentials
Financial information
Personal data
Examples in schools:
Fake emails claiming to be from the principal
Messages asking students to “verify their school email login”
Emails pretending to offer scholarships or job opportunities
Fake Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams login pages
2. Common Signs of a Phishing Email
Teach students and staff to look for these red flags:
✔ Suspicious sender
Email address looks unusual or slightly misspelled
Sender domain is not your school’s official domain
✔ Urgent or threatening language
“Your account will be deactivated in 24 hours!”
“Immediate action required!”
✔ Requests for login information
Schools and IT departments never ask for passwords via email.
✔ Unexpected attachments
“Exam Results Attached.zip”
“New Schedule.pdf.exe”
✔ Fake login pages
Links that redirect to non-school websites
Strange URL spelling or extra characters
3. Technical Measures Schools Should Use
a. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Require students and teachers to use:
SMS code
Authenticator app
Hardware key (optional)
This stops attackers even if they steal a password.
b. Use Email Security Protocols
Your IT team should enable:
SPF – verifies that emails come from approved servers
DKIM – adds a digital signature to prevent tampering
DMARC – blocks or quarantines fake emails
These dramatically reduce spoofed messages.
c. Use Spam and Threat Filtering
Google Workspace for Education, Microsoft 365, and most email providers support:
Malware scanning
Suspicious link detection
Auto-filtering phishing attempts into spam
Make sure IT has maximum protection settings enabled.
d. Keep Devices Updated
Phishing often installs malware. Prevent this by ensuring:
Student Chromebooks/laptops auto-update
Staff computers regularly patch operating systems and browsers
Security software is always running
4. Best Practices for Students & Teachers
a. Hover over links before clicking
Check the REAL destination at the bottom of the screen.
b. Do not download unexpected attachments
Ask the sender directly via another channel (in person or through an official system) before opening.
c. Use strong, unique passwords
Preferably:
At least 12+ characters
A mix of letters, numbers, and symbols
Use a password manager if allowed
d. Never share login credentials
School IT departments never ask for passwords via email or SMS.
e. Report suspicious emails immediately
Encourage users to forward them to IT (e.g., security@school.edu
).
5. IT Department Policies That Reduce Phishing Impact
✔ Mandatory cybersecurity training
Short, age-appropriate lessons help students learn to recognize scams.
✔ Simulated phishing exercises
Send safe fake phishing emails to test awareness and improve training.
✔ Limit user permissions
Students should not have admin rights on school devices.
✔ Backup critical data
Use automated cloud backups to ensure quick recovery.
6. What To Do If Someone Falls for a Phishing Email
Change the password immediately
Notify IT right away
IT should:
Check account activity
Revoke active sessions
Reset MFA tokens
Scan for malware
Educate the user on what went wrong and how to avoid it next time
Fast response reduces the damage dramatically.
7. Summary
To prevent phishing attacks in school emails, schools need to combine:
Technical protections (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MFA, filters)
User education (spotting red flags)
Policy and response plans (training, backup, incident response)
Students and teachers who understand phishing are far less likely to be victims.
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