TU Today

Cyberscam Alert: Phishing emails regarding Financial Aid & CARES Act

The Office of Information Security (OIS) warns about an increase in a current phishing scam targeting faculty, staff and students. 

About the scam
The campus has received an increase of phishing emails related to Financial Aid and the CARES Act. Many of these phishing attacks request that you update your information related to direct deposit or to upload supporting documentation. The emails do not originate from a Towson University email address and have the External Email tag applied.

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. 

Categorised in: General

This post was written by Weldon, Jennifer