Cyberscam Alert: emails with subject “Are you available?” or requests for cell numbers
The Office of Information Security (OIS) warns about an increase in a current phishing scam targeting faculty, staff and students.
About the scam
This email scam falsely claims to be from a higher-ranking TU faculty or staff member, or colleague, and has a subject line similar to “Hello”, “Are you Available? This is urgent,” “Are you on campus?” or “Send me your available cell phone number.” The cyberattacker discourages calling, claiming to be busy, and may request your cell phone to continue the conversation. The conversation likely will result in a request that you make unusual purchase (like a gift card) or to send confidential data.
See a PDF example of this type of phishing scam.
How to identify scam or phishing emails
- Is the email tagged with [EXTERNAL EMAIL – USE CAUTION]? This is a great indicator that the email did not originate from a TU email address.
- Is there a sense of urgency suggested?
- Ask yourself: is this request expected or normal?
What to do if you have received this type of scam email
- Do not reply!
- Report the scam. From Outlook on a desktop/laptop, click the “Report Phish” button at the top of the email. If using an @student.towson.edu email account or from a mobile device, forward it to phishing@towson.edu. Both options send the email to the Office of Information Security for review.
- Confirm the sender. If faculty or staff asks for sensitive information, or for you to make a purchase, look up their phone number in the TU Directory and call or message them separately to confirm their request.
For more resources on how to recognize phishing, visit www.towson.edu/phishing.
Tags: cyberscam alert, OIS, OTS, phishing, phishing alert
Categorised in: General
This post was written by Weldon, Jennifer