A phishing scam in late September diverted an estimated $100,000 from South Carolina’s school voucher program and delayed payments to schools and education businesses during a roughly weeklong account lockdown.
The Education Scholarship Trust Fund pays for approved education services through ClassWallet, the state education department’s contracted payment platform. The department says the program reached its 15,000-student limit for this school year.
Providers received fraudulent emails impersonating the department or ClassWallet and seeking account credentials. Officials alerted vendors Sept. 25, then restricted accounts and disbursements while checking banking information, The Post and Courier reported.
The restrictions blocked payments to providers and prevented parents from finding some businesses in ClassWallet or submitting invoices for tuition, classes and tutoring, according to The 74, which first reported the incident.
“I’m literally thousands of dollars out of funding,” Bridget Deline, who runs Upward Learning Center in Columbia, told The 74. As of Oct. 6, she and her students’ parents were still waiting to regain access.
Addlestone Hebrew Academy in Charleston had tuition payments delayed, chief operating officer Mark Blaylock told The Post and Courier. The school worked with the affected families.
Heather Brannon, owner of Palmetto Screenprinting and Embroidery in Anderson, told the newspaper the incident may have added a few days to uniform customers’ waits. She also described payment approval delays predating the scam.
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Several providers interviewed by The Post and Courier said their accounts were working again by Oct. 5. It remained unclear whether all providers had regained access.
Cyber incidents have also disrupted other state education aid programs. In September, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning reported a network security incident affecting its student financial aid office. Students could still submit applications through the state’s online portal, and no individual university had reported problems.
Department spokeswoman Christy Cox told The Post and Courier that the estimated $100,000 loss was preliminary as officials continued checking provider bank information and trying to recover diverted funds.
