Cybersecurity: Recognize Scams
ODU is committed to protecting our faculty, staff, students, and affiliates from fraudulent activities and cybersecurity threats. We block tens of thousands of email and network attacks each day. As good citizens in our electronic neighborhood, we encourage you to become more vigilant online. Please review and embrace the following tips.
Fraud scammers are smart, but we are smarter.
· Identify the imposter. Imposters pretend to represent ODU, ODU leaders, or other authorities or trusted individuals. These scammers impersonate ODU employees through text and phone calls too. Even if it looks or sounds like someone you know, ODU will never call you and ask for login information or one-time codes. Ever.
· If it's too good to be true. You found that perfect job online. You get hired quickly and receive a check to buy supplies. You're asked to deposit the check and send back the money you don't use. Unfortunately, their check bounces and now you're at a loss. If you're ever asked to deposit a check and send money elsewhere, don't do it. It's a scam!
· Protect yourself from phishing emails. Pay attention to any email claiming to be a bill or a security alert. If anything looks odd such as misspelled words, your name not appearing on the email, links that don't appear to go to the right place, requests for you to "verify" account or personal information, delete the message and report these requests to ITSHelp@odu.edu .
· Recognize pressure tactics. Scammers will create a false sense of urgency to get you to act. Don't fall for it.
· Go to the source. Trust your gut. If you're questioning the person who called you, texted you, or sent you an e-mail, hang up and call on a number you know to be true, to verify with the individual.
· Be a smart sender. Never send money to someone you don't know in real life, especially through third party services such as Zelle®, Venmo, and Cash App. Don't send a payment with gift cards. Legitimate businesses will never request a gift card to satisfy a bill.
Stay secure with these best practices.
· ODU won't ask you for that. We'll never call you to request a one-time verification code, MIDAS password, or other personal identification details.
· Embrace multifactor authentication. ODU offers a "remember me" feature to help you login without compromising security.
· Use strong passwords. Traditional passwords aren't secure enough. Use the strongest authentication options provided, and don't share or save these details on public devices.
· Monitor your important accounts. Keep a close eye on your accounts, respond to fraud alerts and report unauthorized transactions right away.
· Don't respond to unsolicited messages. Ignore and delete random texts and e-mails that ask you to click a link or provide personal information. Don't ever click links from untrusted sources.
For more information on cybersecurity, please visit our awareness page at www.odu.edu/safecomputing. Thank you for your diligence in maintaining a secure ODU computing environment!
J. Douglas Streit, CISSP
Executive Director & CISO
IT Security & Planning
Information Technology Services
Old Dominion University
http://www.odu.edu/directory/people/j/jstreit
Posted By: John Streit
Date: Sun Nov 20 09:16:28 EST 2022