The Office of Information Technology has been alerted to a recent increase in suspicious email activity, including reports of people receiving fraudulent emails coming from what appears to be a familiar Clarkson name or department.
These types of emails are known as “phishing” which is this practice of sending emails that appear to be coming from a reputable source such as co-worker, employer, online retailers, and banks as an attempt to get you to reveal personal or sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. In some cases, they may attempt to get you to send money in some form including purchasing gift cards (iTunes, Walmart, etc.), money orders, or Western Union wired funds.
Remember from your cybersecurity training … STOP. THINK. CONNECT.
- Did the email come from an unfamiliar email address?
- If the email contained links, did you click on them?
- If you did click on a link, did you enter any sensitive information such as a password, social security number, or credit card information?
- If the email contained attachments, did you open them?
- Did the email ask you to send money, purchase gift cards, money orders or wire funds?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, your computer and information may be at risk. For assistance, please contact the IT HelpDesk at helpdesk@clarkson.edu or 315-268-HELP.
We have additional information about phishing in the OIT knowledge base, check here: https://confluence.clarkson.edu/display/OITKB/Phishing+Email