Phishing scams do not take a summer break. They simply change costume every September, swapping fake package alerts for fake scholarship offers and back-to-school discounts. Small business owners often assume these seasonal scams only target parents and students, but that assumption is wrong. Staff members browsing for their own children's supplies use the same laptops and email accounts they use for work. A single careless click during the back-to-school rush can open a door into a company network. This piece looks at what these scams look like this year and how a small team can shut the door before it opens.
Why phishing scams spike every September
Every year, back-to-school season creates a reliable window for fraud. The start of the academic year brings a predictable spike in fraud, as millions of families shop for laptops, uniforms, and dorm supplies. Meanwhile, students wait on loan payments, scholarship confirmations, and financial aid, and scammers know this calendar as well as any retailer does. Consequently, the same weeks that boost retail sales also boost phishing scams aimed at anyone with a mailbox.
Mobile networks carry a flood of fake grant texts promising thousands of dollars for college costs. The largest SMS campaigns researchers have observed promise recipients between $6,500 and nearly $8,000 in education grants. Although the messages reach people nationwide, mobile telemetry shows that Florida, Texas, Georgia, and California have emerged as some of the most heavily targeted states. This pattern matters for any business with remote or hybrid staff working from those regions.
The phishing scams hitting inboxes this year
This season's phishing scams follow a few familiar scripts, arriving by text and email alike. Fake education grant text messages are among the most prominent trends this season, with scammers impersonating grant programs and promising thousands of dollars with no repayment required. Other messages take a different angle: back-to-school shopping means many families are looking for affordable technology, making laptops another popular lure. Rather than a real device, victims are directed to phishing websites or pages requesting personal information under the guise of verifying eligibility.
Newer campaigns target students' interest in artificial intelligence tools. Email scammers are capitalizing on students' growing interest in AI by promoting fake or misleading premium AI subscriptions and study tools. For a small business, the same broad AI hype gives similar phishing emails an easy way to look plausible in a work inbox too. Additionally, increased online shopping for school supplies also brings a rise in fake delivery and Amazon-related scams.
How phishing scams reach your staff, not just parents
Back-to-school phishing scams do not stop at the family email account. Businesses get pulled in too, often because scammers may misuse company names and logos, exposing businesses to reputational harm and consumer mistrust. Furthermore, it is important for businesses to remind employees to exercise caution when making personal purchases on work devices or networks, as fraudulent sites can compromise corporate systems by exposing them to malware. A parent checking a school payment link on a work laptop can hand an attacker a way in without meaning to.
Consequently, security-minded owners should treat this season as a reminder rather than an exception. Broader security training such as phishing, internet safety and data access training is recommended to educate employees on these cyber risks. Otherwise, a single seasonal scam clicked on a work device can turn into a wider security incident.
Simple defenses against phishing scams
Fortunately, the fix does not require a large security budget. Equipping staff to recognize and report phishing scams that could threaten the business matters, since most online attacks begin with a single click. If a message feels unexpected, staff should verify it, but not by replying or using any phone number or link in the message, and instead use a search engine to look up the business's real phone number. This one habit closes the gap most scammers rely on.
Similarly, a single training session will not carry a team through the year. Threats evolve constantly, so once-a-year training isn't enough; owners should set the tone by reinforcing secure online practices regularly and make sure employees know to whom and how to report suspicious emails or phishing attempts. This routine costs little, yet it turns a seasonal scam into a minor inconvenience rather than a costly breach.
Stay ahead of phishing scams this term
Back-to-school phishing scams will keep returning every September, dressed up as grants, gadgets or grades. The pattern rarely changes: urgency, a link, and a request for details nobody should hand over by text. Owners who treat this season as a training opportunity, rather than a one-off email blast, build habits that outlast the school term. Take ten minutes this week to remind your team about phishing scams, share one real example, and confirm everyone knows where to report a suspicious message. That small habit costs nothing and closes an easy way in.
