Clicking an email led to a six-figure loss at a Massachusetts community college.

An employee of Cape Cod Community College clicked on an email that appeared to be from another college, only to realize after there was an attachment to the message which raised suspicions.

The employee followed procedure then and contacted the college's IT department, which determined there was infected virus within the attachment, Cape Cod Community College President John L. Cox told the Cape Cod Times.

"The virus was a little more sophisticated than we thought," he told the Times, adding, "it apparently has the ability to replicate."

The attack focused on the college's financial transactions and stole $807,130 through nine transfers from the school's accounts, Cox told the Times.

The college says it has involved federal authorities in the matter and has recuperated $278,887. It has upgraded its security system and replaced infected computing systems.

"I'm hoping we'll get most of this recovered," Cox told the Times, of the remaining funds lost in the attack. "