Dear University Employees,
We are reaching out to raise awareness about a recent increase in phone scams targeting university personnel. Scammers are attempting to gather personal information about employees and students to gain unauthorized access to university accounts.
Here's what you need to know:
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Scammers may impersonate students, employees, IT support staff, or well-known companies.
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They may use tactics like urgency, threats of account suspension, or promises of financial rewards to pressure you into disclosing personal information.
How to Protect Yourself and Others:
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Verify the caller's identity. If unsure, hang up and contact the person they claim to represent through a trusted phone number or email address we have on record.
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Be suspicious of unsolicited calls, even if the caller ID appears to be from a university department.
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Never share your university ID number, password, or other sensitive information over the phone unless you initiated the call directly.
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Never share information about other employees or students unless you initiated the call and are authorized to do so.
What to Do if Contacted:
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If you receive a suspicious call, politely decline to provide any information, inform the user we can contact them using information we have on file, and end the call.
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Report the incident to the IT Help Desk immediately.
Additional Resources:
The IT Security department offers resources to help you stay safe from scams. Please visit our Knowledge Base for more information on:
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Recognizing and avoiding phishing attempts (emails designed to steal information)
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Protecting your passwords
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Reporting suspicious activity
By working together, we can help safeguard university data and protect ourselves from these scams.
Sincerely,
The VU IT Security Team