Back To School

 

Back-to-school season is busy. Families are shopping for supplies, paying activity fees, setting up school accounts, downloading new apps, checking schedules, completing forms, and adjusting to new routines. Unfortunately, all that activity can also create opportunities for fraudsters.

 

Scammers often succeed by making a request look familiar and urgent. An email appears to come from a school. A text claims a payment is overdue. A social media ad offers an unbelievable deal on a laptop. A student receives a message asking them to “verify” their school account. Or a grandparent gets an alarming call from someone claiming a grandchild is in trouble and needs money immediately.

 

Knowing what to watch for can help protect the entire family.

 

Be Suspicious of Unexpected School Payment Requests School fees, lunch accounts, sports registrations, field trips, tuition, fundraising, and extracurricular activities can mean families are making more payments than usual. That makes a message asking for money seem perfectly normal.

 

Before clicking a link or entering payment information, look closely at the sender and destination. If you’re unsure whether a request is legitimate, don’t use the phone number or link contained in the message. Instead, visit the school’s official website or contact the school using information you already trust.

 

Don’t Let Urgency Make the Decision for You
“Your account will be closed.”
“Payment is due today.”
“Your child needs money immediately.”

Scammers frequently use urgency because they don’t want you to stop and investigate. A legitimate organization should allow you to verify a request before providing sensitive information or sending money.

When something feels unusually urgent, pause, verify, then act.

Help Students Recognize Phishing
Kids and teens can be fraud targets, too. Students may receive emails, texts, direct messages, or pop-ups asking them to reset passwords, verify school accounts, claim prizes, download files, or provide login information.

 

Remind students never to share passwords or verification codes—even with someone claiming to represent their school, a technology company, a game, or a social media platform.

 

Encourage them to ask a trusted adult when they’re unsure about a message. Creating that habit early can help them develop safer digital and financial behaviors as they get older.

 

Shop Carefully for Back-to-School Deals
From clothes and sneakers to laptops, tablets, dorm supplies, and school essentials, back-to-school shopping can get expensive. Scammers know consumers are searching for bargains.

 

Be cautious of unfamiliar websites offering popular products at dramatically discounted prices. Before purchasing, check the web address carefully, research unfamiliar retailers, and be especially cautious about ads encountered through social media.
Avoid providing payment or personal information through a link in an unsolicited email or text.

 

College students and their families should be particularly careful with messages involving financial aid, scholarships, student loans, tuition payments, or refunds.

 

Be suspicious when someone guarantees a scholarship, requests payment to access financial aid, or unexpectedly asks for banking credentials, Social Security numbers, passwords, or verification codes.

 

When in doubt, contact the school or financial aid office directly.

 

Grandparents Can Be Targets, Too
Back-to-school conversations aren’t only for parents and students.
A scammer may impersonate a child or grandchild and claim there’s an emergency—a car accident, an arrest, a medical problem, or another situation requiring immediate money. Advances in technology can make these scams increasingly convincing.

 

Families can create a simple verification plan. If someone receives an unexpected request for emergency money, contact the family member directly using a known phone number before sending anything. Some families even establish a private word or question that can help verify someone’s identity.

 

First-day-of-school photos are a fun tradition but remember how much information a photo can reveal. School names, teacher names, grade levels, ages, sports teams, bus stops, and daily routines can provide information that scammers may use to make future communications sound more believable.

 

You don’t have to stop sharing family milestones—just take a moment to consider what information is visible before posting publicly.

 

Make Fraud Awareness Part of the Back-to-School Routine
Fraud prevention doesn’t have to be complicated. Talk openly as a family about suspicious messages, encourage everyone to ask questions before clicking links or sending money, use strong and unique passwords, enable available security features, and regularly review financial accounts for unfamiliar activity.

 

When a financial request is unexpected, unusual, or urgent, stop and verify it independently.

 

A new school year is a great time to establish new habits. Along with packing backpacks and organizing schedules, make fraud awareness part of your family’s back-to-school checklist.

 

Artisans’ Bank is here to help you protect what you’ve worked hard for. If you notice suspicious activity involving your Artisans’ Bank account, contact us promptly.

 
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