CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. — Someone is trying to scam employees of Currituck County Public Schools in North Carolina, and the school system is trying to warn them to be aware and vigilant
According to a message on the school system's Facebook page posted Saturday afternoon, a text message received by some Currituck County Schools staff members and solicits assistance from the receiver, leading to a request for personal information and/or money.
The sender claims to be Dr. Matt Lutz, the Superintendent of Currituck County Public Schools. Officials say it looks authentic. They implore their staff memebrrs to not "respond to the text message, call the phone number, or provide personal, card or account information."
They said: "Dr. Lutz does not contact employees directly via text message for non-work-related matters, nor would he ever solicit individuals' personal information, including financial." They went on to say that if Currituck County Schools employees receive any communication from Dr. Lutz, it will from their Central Office on Dr. Lutz's behalf.
They referred their employees to an article titled: "How to Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages" by the Federal Trade Commission for more information about this type of messaging scam and how to report them should they receive such a message.
To report such a scam, here's what the FTC recommends:
If you get an unwanted text message, there are three ways to report it:
- Copy the message and forward it to 7726 (SPAM). This helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages in the future.
- Report it on the messaging app you use. Look for the option to report junk or spam.
- Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
