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#270 It’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month!

September 28, 2016

Freshen up your cyber security know-how with these steps to avoid being hooked by phishing attacks.

Freshen up your cyber security know-how to avoid being hooked by phishing attacks.

Phishing refers to scams in which criminals contact you to try to collect your private information such as a username, password, credit card number, or bank account number.

Guard yourself against phishing by reviewing these tips on how to identify potentially harmful efforts to access your sensitive data.

  1. Watch for bad grammar, poor spelling, and awkward formatting.
  2. Be skeptical of emails that urge immediate action or make threats.
  3. Look at the sender’s address. If you’ve never spoken to the sender before or the sender represents a group that you’re unfamiliar with, be extra careful. Scammers may also pose as legitimate business or people you know to try to earn your trust.
  4. Check links. Before you click on a link in an email, hover your cursor over the link to check its web address. If you’re not familiar with the website, don’t click on the link.
  5. Don’t give anyone your password or personal information. ITS will never ask for your password or personal information when reaching out to you, and most reputable organizations won’t either.
  6. Phishing can be phone calls too. If someone claiming to be a legitimate organization asks for your personal information over the phone, hang up and call that agency back on their publicly available phone number.

Contact itshelp@law.upenn.edu if you’ve received a dubious email. When in doubt, please reach out to us.

Immediately change your passwords if you’ve clicked on a phishing link or given anyone your private data. Email itshelp@law.upenn.edu for help with further securing your data in the event of a breach.

Go here for more details about phishing, and check out examples of phishing emails received by members of the UPenn community here.