By Mary O’KEEFE

The scams just keeps coming for Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) staff after a ransomware cyber attack in December 2023 occurred throughout the district.

“Upon becoming aware of the situation we immediately initiated an investigation and have been systematically working to understand the nature and extent of the incident, as well as to restore full system access. We are utilizing a variety of resources, including cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to support us until the incident is resolved,” said then-GUSD board president Jennifer Freemon shortly after the attack.

All district issued devices were taken offline, including computers and Chromebooks,  as specialists worked to protect the information they could, and get everyone safely back online. The system was back online by mid December but the problem is once someone’s information is out there….It is out there.

So the latest issue facing employees with GUSD is with their taxes.

“We were told on April 19 that 14,000 folks had their social security numbers compromised,” said Glendale Teachers Association president Taline Arsenian.

Then GTA began getting calls from members stating when they went to file their taxes and found that their taxes had already been filed….Fraudulently.

“We were getting phone calls [from members] saying they were not able to file their tax returns. [Some] said someone else had filed in their name,” Arsenian said.

GUSD staff were also receiving calls about this issue and in turn contacted the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).

“[GUSD] sent a full list of people that may have been impacted to the tax board,” said Kristine Nam, GUSD spokeswoman.

The FTB flagged those names.

Arsenian said once they began getting calls they sent out a survey to all GTA members who are presently working.

“Our survey, as of [Wednesday], had 237 members tell us that they have been notified their taxes were filed fraudulently,” she said.

The survey respondents had a variety of issues from finding that someone else had filed their taxes in another person’s name, to not being able to e-file [electric file].

Nam said the e-file issue is in addition to  others that have reported by respondents who have  to go through a more extensive identification process could be due to the “flagged” names.

Arsenian said that, according to the survey, some had issues with state taxes, some with federal and some with both. And a few have reported having problems with their older children filing their own taxes.

Not being able to e-file their taxes means that if there is a tax refund, a refund will be sent via a check mailed to them. This is a delay which Arsenian said is a hardship for some of the GTA members.

The entire ransomware attack affected 14,000 including  current and retired members: however, not all of those members have been affected by the tax filing issue.

Nam said the district continues to work with cyber security and letters had been sent out to anyone that has been identified as a potential victim, including retirees. Some, who have filed an extension are finding they have an issue now.

Anyone, current employees or retirees,  who are nervous about their information being used, has had an issue or a question can contact the GUSD Human Resource Department at (818) 241-311 ext. 1259.

Arsenian has said members, both current and retirees, can contact email her at talinegta@gmail.com. GTA would like to hear from retirees to include in their survey data.

  Mary Okeefe