The Office of Information Security has received reports of phishing on our campuses involving supposed payments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This specific criminal activity involves telling users that they can obtain a payment (in this case from ‘Google Technology Company’) as part of a “package” that is “earmarked for” people who have been directly financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The email goes on to ask the recipient for their bank name, account number, routing number, and Social Security Number. Below, you will find an example of the fraudulent message.
Unfortunately, the COVID -19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for bad actors. We all need to exercise extreme caution with any solicitation or supposed benefit related to COVID-19 that crosses our inboxes.
Additional resources About COVID-19 and work from home scams:
UPDATED: Known Scams Involving COVID-19
UPDATED: Cyber Attackers Exploit Vulnerabilities amid Surge in Remote Work
As always, please remain vigilant about any emails that request personal information. Please exercise additional caution with any emails containing spelling, grammatical, or other errors as these are often hallmarks of a phishing attempt.
If you have any doubt about the authenticity, please pick up the phone and contact the sender to confirm that they did, in fact, send the message. It is a best practice to refrain from sharing any personal or financial information via email.
If you receive an e-mail such as this or any other suspected phishing attempt, please do not click on any links or download any files from the e-mail. Simply forward the e-mail to phishing@wustl.edu and delete the e-mail from your inbox.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please reach out to us at the Office of Information Security at infosec@wustl.edu. We appreciate all that you do to keep our university secure.