During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Information Technology Services reminds all students and employees to be aware of and report phishing emails to avoid falling for scams aimed at stealing your login credentials.
Forward suspicious emails as an attachment to DefendYourData@mail.wvu.edu. Employees can also use the "report message" button in Office 365 to send it to ITS for review.
According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, cybercriminals have sent more than 3.3 billion phishing messages so far this year. This caused nearly 4,000 data breaches and exposed 22 billion personal records nationwide.
Here are popular phishing scam tactics to look out for:
Offers for gifts. Hackers are trying to bait you into clicking on a malicious link. Don’t reply or click on them.
Messages sent with urgency. An urgent phishing email is designed to get you to act before you think. If someone is pressuring you to make a wire transfer, pay with Bitcoin or buy money orders or gift cards, don’t do it.
Asking to verify login credentials. Never give personal or work information via email and be alert for fake websites.
Impersonating colleagues. Hackers often try to impersonate someone you know. Pay attention to whether the sender’s address is formatted the way you’d expect.
Learn how to protect your personal data online at defendyourdata.wvu.edu.