Don’t get hooked by phishing!
Once again, phishers are targeting NC State University email account holders with an increased number of fraudulent emails that claim to originate from ncsu.edu administrators, OIT, NCSU email accounts system, or similar sources.
OIT Security and Compliance is using multiple tactics, including anti-spam services, to protect campus users against phishing scams, but your help is also needed! Because phishing attackers are constantly changing their phishing messages to evade anti-spam services, some messages will get through to your inbox. It’s important that you learn how to recognize a phishing email to protect yourself and other users of the campus email system.
What should you look for?
- A request that you provide a username and password
- A threat to deactivate or delete your email account if you do not reply quickly
- An authentic-looking but fake URL
- A fake link to the NC State Shibboleth login page
- A suspicious attachment
What should you do if you are unsure of the sender or if you receive unsolicited email (especially email requesting your username and password)?
- Remember that NC State personnel will NEVER ask you to reveal personal information, such as passwords or other restricted data, by email, phone, text, or other means of communication. NC State personnel may ask you to change a password but never to disclose it outright.
- Do not reply.
- Do not click on any links (copy and paste links into your browser).
- Do not open any attached files.
- Report the incident to OIT by forwarding the email to abuse@ncsu.edu. Include the reply-to address or email headers in the report.
- Delete the message immediately.
What should you do if you have already responded to a phishing attempt (provided your password, clicked on a link, opened an attachment, etc.)?
- Change your Unity password immediately at Unity Password Change Tool.
- Have your computer checked out for malware if you’ve clicked on a suspicious link or opened a suspicious attachment.
Below is an example of an actual phishing email message. In this phishing email, the From: address is fake and didn’t come from university servers. Also, if you replied to this email message, the To: address is not in the @ncsu.edu domain, which means your UnityID and password would be sent to a non-NC State party.