We have received reports that some schools are getting cold calls from someone reporting to be from BT telling them that their internet is very slow. The school’s in question have indicated that they don’t take their service provision from BT however the caller has proceeded to try and convince them that all circuits are from BT. In the cases reported the school’s have cut short the calls before any information was shared or activities on the computer undertaken.
The majority of schools will be served with physical copper and fibre optics by BT Openreach, however schools will typically contract with either the emPSN network supplier KCOM, or an alternative ISP (internet service provider). BT will not make direct cold calls to schools regarding internet performance.
Schools can be targets through email phishing or cold calling scams, otherwise known as social engineering, whereby undesirable outcomes such as hacking, ransomeware, viruses and trojans may be inadvertently downloaded and installed by the unsuspecting school employee or worse personal information handed over.
Schools should be vigilant to unsolicited emails and cold calls (those not expected and from sources reporting to be from legitimate companies).
Further information can be found on these topics at:
