By Harrison Stites According to IC3, an FBI subsidiary, 241,342 Americans were victims of successful phishing attacks in 2020. The tactics used in phishing continue to evolve with the intent of getting you to divulge sensitive information or download malicious attachments. However, you already possess the skills to prevent phishing attacks and stay safe online. […]
Tag: phishing
Phishing 101
Email phishing has long been the method of choice for many cybercriminals who seek to exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain. These attacks are continually revised and refreshed to take advantage of current trends and new strategies used to socially engineer their victims. Phishing works so well because it takes advantage of human emotion, convincing unsuspecting […]
Scam of the Month—July 2021
Before we get to our Scam of the Month for July, we wanted to take a minute to say thanks to one of our readers who took the time to reach out and provide some additional clues from last month’s column. Here is a link to our post from last month: https://informationsecurity.wustl.edu/scam-of-the-month-june-2021/ Our reader points out […]
Avoiding Workday Phishing Scams
Washington University will soon adopt Workday, a cloud-based software system for managing finances, human resources, and planning. The new system provides a single, integrated system for managing multiple facets of daily operations at WashU. Background WashU takes the security of your data and our systems seriously. Therefore, the system that we use to manage sensitive […]
Scam of the Month—June 2021
In each issue of the newsletter, we will feature, discuss, and dissect a scam that has appeared on our campus. These scams are “real” attempts to infiltrate our systems and/or gain access to sensitive and personal information of individuals in our community. By sharing these examples with our readers, we hope to enhance your awareness […]
Social Engineering Red Flags
Phishing, the practice of sending fraudulent emails in order to induce recipients into surrendering private information and login credentials, is the single most common type of cybercrime today. According to a recent report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), nearly one-third of complaints received in 2020 were about various forms […]
Phishing Alert: Tax Scam Targeting Educational Institutions
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a warning today (Tuesday, March 30, 2021) about an ongoing impersonation scam targeting educational institutions. Faculty, students and staff with email addresses ending in .edu are primary targets for this scam. How this Scam Works This criminal scam attempts to capture personal information from recipients by prompting them to […]
Phishing Alert: Credential Phishing Detected on Campus
The Office of Information Security received a reported phishing message that contains a dangerous credential phishing scam. This malicious email states that there is a document available in OneDrive, but that the recipient will need to follow a link in the email to sign in and see it. Unsuspecting victims who type their credentials into […]
Keep Your Information Secure This Tax Season
Tax season is here again, and as always, that means internet scammers are looking for openings to take advantage of heightened online traffic. According to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, “This is generally the hunting season for online thieves, but this year there’s a dangerous combination of factors at play that should make people more alert” […]
INFOSEC ALERT: Social Security Vishing on Campus
Our office received a report of a vishing (fraudulent phone call) attack targeting a WashU student. In the attack, the caller claimed that the student’s social security number had been associated with overseas drug-trafficking activity. Another popular Vishing campaign involves impersonating support personnel from companies like Apple or Amazon. In this scam, the attackers call […]
Device Security for the Entire Family
The holiday season is here! As we prepare our hearths and homes to celebrate the holidays with friends and family, we sense that this season will be different. According to the National Retail Federation (https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-expects-holiday-sales-will-grow-between-36-and-52-percent ), online sales are expected to grow by at least 30% this year, adapting to the constraints of a pandemic […]
Top Phishing Threats Last Year: Impersonation and Credential Phishing
The Office of Information Security works diligently to protect our institution from phishing threats. Ultimately, however, our shared security depends on your vigilance. You can protect yourself by avoiding engagement with phishing attempts, and you can help protect all of us by swiftly reporting these threats to our office. When you report a phishing attempt, […]
InfoSec Alert: Cybersecurity Attacks Targeting US Healthcare Systems
During the week of October 26, multiple federal agencies notified Washington University of a credible cybersecurity threat to US health care providers. This threat has impacted several hospitals across the country within the last few days, and intelligence officials suggest several hundred more may be targeted in the near future. Washington University has a dedicated […]
PHISHING ALERT: Malicious Email Indicating New Payroll Approvals Required
The Office of Information Security has identified a phishing threat in which the sender indicates new payroll approvals are required. This is a malicious email attempting to get users to follow a link to a fake login portal. Any user information that is entered in this fake portal will be captured by the criminals as […]
INFOGRAPHIC: Recognizing and Avoiding Business Email Compromise Attacks
INFOGRAPHIC: Practical Advice for Avoiding Phishing Emails
Cybersecurity Awareness Month Is Right Around the Corner
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Cybersecurity Awareness Month was launched as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October 2004 as a joint effort between the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The objective of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month was to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity and offer resources to […]
Whaling, SMiShing, and Vishing…Oh My!
original post by Eric Weakland, EDUCAUSE Cybercriminals use types of social engineering—manipulating people into doing what they want—as the most common way to steal information and money. Social engineering is at the heart of all types of phishing attacks—those conducted via email, SMS, and phone calls. Technology makes these sorts of attacks easy and […]