Tag: Fraud
Fraud, usually involving money, such as an attempt to convince the victim to purchase gift cards
Happy July! I hope everyone enjoys their half-day Fridays! That’s about all the good news I have, unfortunately. Times of national (and international) upheaval, like the COVID pandemic, war in Europe, and the like are, similar to death and taxes – inevitable. What is also inevitable is that some people will use these times to prey on the fear, uncertainty and doubt in the minds of everyone else to try and take your money. “They” need your money RIGHT NOW to solve a problem, invest in the future, or fight back against a threat. They will email you, call you, even text you to solicit your money. The flood will be relentless…
and that’s just the politicians.
March News from Information Security
March! Yay! March! The third month of the year has begun, and it will be busy, as we have reached the midpoint of the semester, and can now look forward to spring break, warmer weather, and the end of the semester. This is not to say that we don’t have plenty of challenges ahead of us.
We’ve made it through one month of 2022. That means that tax season is approaching and with it, the onslaught of phishing and scam emails about taxes, tax forms, refunds, and any other tax-related topic cyber-criminals can come up with. With tax preparation being an annual event for most people, it doesn’t hurt to get a reminder early on about what kinds of fraudulent emails, phone calls, and even text messages are possible during this time.
and most everyone’s bank account is trying to recover from Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. As we move into this season of searching for the best deals, figuring out how to purchase them all, waiting for packages to arrive and being very busy, let’s all remember that to cyber-criminals, scammers, phishers and the like, this season means something very different to them than it does to us.
It is now September and believe it or not, all of you students are already expected to have just fallen into a rhythm and be moving along with the flow of classes and work. If you are not at this point, don’t worry…fake it until you make it! You’ll eventually figure out the balance of the three “S” components of college life as a student – studies, socializing and sleep. For those who are not students, welcome back to the school year, the time when you get to continue doing everything you were already doing AND have students back in classes, LifeWorks positions, and all over campus. Keep smiling everyone, even behind your masks. Real smiles really do show in the eyes, too.
Is it really August? We’re not even close to fall and yet, the fall semester awaits, looming in the near distance, only days away (or if you are a student and don’t read this until you arrive on campus, maybe only hours away). Another academic year is beginning, one of both hope and hesitance. We hope for a “normal” semester, but fear the rising noise of COVID!, COVID!, COVID!. Add this on top of all the “normal” start of the academic year worries and stressors and it is easy to get distracted.
Whew! We made it to March! While there won’t be some of the typical shenanigans we are used to experiencing in March, like Spring Break (sorry, I had to mention it), there are plenty of things to be aware of….