Tag: Social Engineering

Scam of the Month: Direct Deposit Phishing Scam Impersonating University Leadership

Chanc Impersonation Direct Deposit Phish

Members of the WashU community are receiving phishing emails impersonating university leadership, including Chancellor Martin and Dean Perlmutter. These messages request changes to direct deposit information due to suspicious activity.  Phishing scams often impersonate people in leadership positions to encourage a heightened sense of urgency in the recipient. Additionally, information about leaders is publicly available […]

The Race Against Ransomware

Be suspicious infographic

Ransomware is a specific category of malware that causes harm to the computer and the computer system. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency defines ransomware as “an ever-evolving form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable.” The threat actors (hackers) behind […]

Cyberattacks are speeding up

Go Slow Infographic

Organizations have been a driving force behind cybersecurity awareness and training. It’s more important than ever to be up to date with cybersecurity knowledge so that attacks don’t happen on your watch.  In these special edition Cybersecurity Awareness Month articles, you’ll read about damaging attacks that happened in 2021 — and how employee actions changed […]

Scam of the Month—August 2021

SMiSh Example

The Office of Information Security has received reports of a SMiShing campaign targeting students at our institution. SMiShing occurs when cybercriminals use tactics common to phishing campaigns in text messages, attempting to communicate legitimacy to the unsuspecting victim.  The reported SMiShing attempt is posted below. The message sender is posing as someone in a position […]

How to use your source-checking skills to stay safe from phishing

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]