Posted: December 4, 2019

These new video doorbells allow you to have a little extra assurance about who is on the other side of your interaction. When the doorbell rings and your video doorbell shows you a guy dressed as a 1940’s gangster, you know something is fishy even if he is telling you that he is the UPS delivery man. But we don’t have that yet in email, so when you get the ring from the email box from somebody claiming to be the UPS delivery staff, you can’t see the familiar uniform or the classic thief costume. Whether at the door or at the email box, don’t let the thief in!

At this time of year there is always an uptick in fraudulent messages attempting to trick you out of your sensitive personal information - these attempts are referred to as phishing. The people behind these schemes know that many of us are busy, stressed, anxious and hurried during this time of year, and they send emails hoping to catch us at a weak moment, and with a scenario that may trigger an even more emotional response. You might see messages warning of things such as…your gift delivery requires confirmation of your credit card…your email account will be deleted unless you log in to renew…your debit card will be cancelled unless you verify your PIN immediately…your Uncle Fester will rot in jail unless you send iTunes gift cards to the IRS…over and over and over again.

Be cautious and wary when you see these messages. Are you really expecting a package from Tiffany & Co.? If you have never done business with Wells Fargo do you think they need your Social Security number to verify your account? Before falling victim to these phishing schemes, feel free to contact us at AgCompSupport@psu.edu or by phone to 814-865-1229….or check Penn State's phishing scam page - https://security.psu.edu/phishing/. It is so much easier for us and for you to help you avoid a compromise than it is to recover from a compromise!

Information Technologies

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