EBR School Official Falls for Nigerian Phishing Scam to the Tune of $46,500

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The top business manager for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system fell for an unsophisticated con, wiring $46,500 to someone who claimed via email to be Superintendent Warren Drake, even though the man himself was working in an office next door.

The school system on Thursday disclosed the fraud known as “phishing,” which occurred twice in May. The details are outlined in a special audit, received late Thursday from the auditing firm Postlethwaite & Netterville, that examines what happened and suggests ways to prevent it from happening again. The audit cost about $10,000.

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The first email from the fake Warren Drake arrived the morning of May 5: “Are you in the office? I’ll be busy. Email Me. Regards.” Fletcher quickly replied, “Yes, I am in the office.” At no point in the emails does Fletcher betray any doubt about what’s happening, nor does she request additional information about the requests.

She also made no attempt to call or talk in person with Drake, whose office is adjacent to hers at the School Board Office on South Foster Drive. The fake Warren Drake says at different points that he’s busy or in a meeting, which appears to have dissuaded her from trying to talk to him directly.

The “From” line of these emails says “Warren Drake” but the actual email address was officialdetailsemail@sent.com, not an address used by the superintendent. The official email address is not immediately visible in many emails. The subject line for the first two wire transfer requests are “Catherine Fletcher” while the third is “Urgent, Catherine Fletcher.”

The fake Warren Drake requested the first wire transfer of $22,500 go to the account of “Rosa a oboadey” in the Bronx, and that the second of $24,000 go to “Johnson Chepkwony” of Brooklyn. The third wire request, which was halted, was for $25,000 for “Sylvester Namutedi,” also from Brooklyn.

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