The Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office has learned a painful lesson following a data breach that leaked the information for over 2,500 employees. This breach is the result of a phishing scam, as an email supposedly from human resources tricked employees into handing over vital information.

Got Phished

The data breach began when a scammer sent out emails, posing as the assistant superintendent of human resources. Falling for the trick, one or more employees sent over the requested files, handing over information on all employees who were paid through the office in 2015.

This information, according to Bakersfield Now, includes names, gross pay, and most worryingly, Social Security numbers.

Protecting Against Identity Theft

In response, the department has partnered with Kroll Inc., a third-party vendor, to provide an identity theft protection plan. Said plan will be provided for a full year at no cost to the impacted employees, to protect them from any potential identity theft that could be committed through the stolen Social Security numbers.

In addition, the office has notified the Bakersfield Police Department, which has begun investigating the data breach. With any luck, they can trace it back to the cyber criminal, and keep the affected employees’ information safe from identity theft.

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