Brit pupils’ sensitive info at risk after headteachers are held to ransom for THOUSANDS by cyber thieves targeting school computer systems

CYBER CROOKS pretending to be the Department for Education are stealing information on pupils and holding it to ransom for thousands.

Virus-laden emails have been sent directly to head teachers by posing as officials.

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In several instances the fraudsters have called the school secretary and claimed to need the head’s personal address.

The scammers pretend that they need to send these documents directly to the head teacher and not to a generic school inbox, using the argument that they contain sensitive information.

These malicious emails will include an Excel or Word document which unbeknown to the recipient, will contain ransomware.

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Once downloaded the hackers can steal and corrupt the files on the device and demand money to recover  them.

In some cases hackers have  requested £8,000 in return for the confidential material.

Similar scam attempts have been made recently by fraudsters claiming to be from the Department for Work and Pensions and telecoms providers, too, according to Action Fraud.

The government-backed cyber crime specialists warned in a blogpost: "Having up-to-date virus protection is essential; however it will not always be able to prevent you from becoming infected.

"Don’t click on links or open any attachments you receive in unsolicited emails or SMS messages. Remember that fraudsters can ‘spoof’ an email address to make it look like one used by someone you trust.

"If you are unsure, check the email header to identify the true source of communication."

And it's not just schools at risk.

Telly lovers may have  to cough up to watch  their favourite  shows after ransomware began infecting smart TVs across the globe.

In one instance a letter purporting to be from the FBI popped up on a screen, asking for $500.

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