Ardrey Kell students targeted with fraudulent job message. What CMS did about it
Students at Ardrey Kell High School received a phishing email late last week, seeking bank account information, a parent told The Charlotte Observer.
The district said it removed the message as soon as it discovered it and “secured” student accounts. Ardrey Kell is located in south Charlotte and is frequently ranked as the largest school in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, with over 3,000 students enrolled last school year according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
“A scam/spam email regarding job opportunities went out to all students asking for information and banking data,” school leaders sent in a message to Ardrey Kell students Thursday morning, which the parent shared with The Observer. “DO NOT CLICK ON OR RESPOND TO THIS!!! IMMEDIATELY FORWARD IT TO: spam@cms.k12.nc.us.”
Asked by the Observer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools confirmed there was a message from an “unauthorized account” to students that “promoted fraudulent job opportunities.” The message was “promptly removed once discovered, and student accounts were secured,” a CMS spokesperson said Monday.
“As a precaution, the impacted school shared a Canvas notification reminding students to remain vigilant about suspicious messages and to report anything that appears suspicious,” the spokesperson said. “The notification was not sent to every student districtwide.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 2:12 PM.
