E-Mail Phishing Scams

Many colleges and universities have been the target of email phishing scams (active) which attempt to trick students, faculty and staff into giving away personal information that can be used to access email and personal bank accounts. These scams typically contain sensitive email subjects and may ask you to reply to the message via email or phone with some of the following information:

Username
Password
Account number
Birth date
Credit card expiration date
Credit card pin

Universities and financial institutions never ask for personal account information via email. In addition, the SU ITS will never ask for your password via email. Any email communication or unsolicited web form asking for this type of information should be closed and deleted.

It is a good practice to remember that email is an insecure form of communication. Email systems cannot verify that the sender in the "From:" line is the actual sender of a message. Unless you are expecting a message from a sender, you should be aware of the insecurities that exist regarding incoming emails.

When in doubt, e-mail ischoolit@or.syr.edu or call the help desk at 315-443-4490.

Central Security Team can also be reached via ITsecurity@listserv.syr.edu or call 315-443-2677.