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FBI investigating after Manor ISD loses $2.3M in phishing email scam


File image{ } of Manor Senior High School. (CBS Austin)
File image of Manor Senior High School. (CBS Austin)
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Manor ISD is facing a loss of $2.3 million after police say the district fell victim to an email phishing scam.

Detective Anne Lopez with the Manor Police Department says three separate fraudulent transactions happened in November.

A district employee discovered the issue in December and immediately reported it to police.

"Scams are unbiased they reach anyone anywhere any time," says Detective Lopez.

Lopez tells CBS Austin it's rare to see a scam of this magnitude involving a school district.

Police have not specified how it happened and it's not clear if the district will get the money back.

"Obviously some system wasn't in place," says Halion Abramovitch with Live Oak IT.

Abramovitch says phishing scams are seen as attempts to get access to information either online or by phone.

He says they are carried out in a variety of ways including: disguised email addresses, phone numbers, fake links, etc.

Because scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, Abramovitch says organizations have started enforcing extreme precautions to prevent data breaches.

Manor Police have called in the help of the FBI to track down who's responsible for the loss of $2.3 million tax dollars and investigators say they have strong leads.

Manor ISD declined to comment on the pending investigation telling CBS Austin they've released all the information they can at this time.

Police are warning people and businesses to verify any links or emails before giving information online.

If you believe you are the victim of a scam it's important to notify police immediately.

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