July 14th, 2025
We want to make you aware of a recent phishing attempt targeting Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) staff and student email accounts. Please be assured that we are actively monitoring the situation and have already taken key steps to protect our students. At this time, we are not aware of any WRDSB email accounts that have been compromised. We are providing this update out of an abundance of caution and to remind students and families about cyber safety and security.
What Happened
A number of student and staff accounts received fake job offer emails that included links to suspicious Google Forms. These emails did not come from WRDSB and were part of an external phishing scam intended to collect personal information.
What We’ve Done
As soon as we became aware of the situation, we acted quickly and thoroughly:
- Blocked the email addresses and links involved
- Reported the fraudulent forms to Google
- Removed the phishing emails from students’ inboxes.
- Initiated a review of our system to ensure ongoing security
We are continuing to monitor for any further activity and remain committed to maintaining a safe and secure digital environment for all students and staff.
What You Can Do
We encourage students and families to stay informed and practice good online safety habits:
- Avoid clicking on links in emails that seem suspicious or too good to be true
- Delete any unexpected job offer emails
- If you or your child clicked a link or shared personal information, contact info@wrdsb.ca
- Remind your child to check with a trusted adult before responding to unexpected messages
Our team remains vigilant, and we are prepared to take additional action if needed. The Waterloo Region District School Board offers a Digital Citizenship – Guide For Parents which can be used to support conversations around online safety.
We appreciate your ongoing support in helping our students as they use technology.