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Islamabad: The WhatsApp accounts of numerous school and college principals have been compromised by fraudsters, who are allegedly utilizing these accounts to solicit financial contributions from students and their parents.
In response to this initiative, the Ministry of Education and the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) have instructed school principals to engage with students and their parents transparently to mitigate the risk of any fraudulent activities.
The Director of Urban Institutions at FDE, M. Qamaruddin, disseminated information regarding these incidents to educational institutions. A communication disseminated by the Islamabad Model Colleges for Boys (IMCB), I-10/1, to parents, cautioned them to remain vigilant against any attempts by fraudsters to unlawfully extract funds from them.
“It has come to our attention that hackers have recently compromised the WhatsApp accounts of several school and college principals. These hackers are impersonating principals and officials from the Ministry of Education, contacting other principals, and requesting monetary deposits under false pretenses,” the message read, calling it a serious and concerning issue.
“Please note that the Ministry of Education does not solicit payments in this manner, and any such requests should be treated as fraudulent,” the message disseminated by the college indicated.
“There is a real and immediate risk that these hackers may extend their fraudulent activities by contacting parents, posing as principals of schools or colleges, and requesting funds for fabricated reasons,” it stated, advocating for the implementation of precautionary measures.
The message asked the principals to share this information with the parents. “Advise them to exercise extreme caution if they receive any unexpected communication claiming to be from the school or college, particularly through WhatsApp or similar platforms. Tell parents that we don’t ask for any sort of money to be deposited in any account,” it stated.
WhatsApp has emerged as an essential instrument for facilitating communication among educators, students, and parents. Although it enabled remote learning, it simultaneously created opportunities for cyber threats, as hackers began to target school administrators, students, and parents for financial exploitation.
Authorities urge parents to report suspicious messages or calls to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
