Scammers are attempting to impersonate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from email addresses like “cdcgov.org” and the World Health Organization (WHO). Criminals are disguising themselves as WHO to steal money or sensitive information. Phishing emails used during these attempts have contained documents with malicious code embedded as well as malicious attachments and links to fake login portals. We have collected examples of malicious email & login pages. These examples can be found at https://www.protectthenestesu.com/. Any official information regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and any impact on the Emporia State University Campus or Local Community will come from President Allison Garrett, the Provost Office, Mary McDaniel-Anschutz, or Andrew McHenry.
Tips:
- Be attentive to the sender’s name. This scam says it’s from “World Health Organization”, but the sender can put any name they like in the From: field
- Look out for spelling and grammatical errors. Not all crooks make mistakes, but many do. Take the extra time to review messages for telltale signs that they’re fraudulent – it’s bad enough to get scammed at all without realizing afterward that you could have spotted the fraud upfront.
- Check the URL before you type it in or click a link. If the website you’re being sent to doesn’t look right, stay clear. Do your own research and make your own choice about where to look.
- Never enter data that a website shouldn’t be asking for. There is no reason for a health awareness web page to ask for your email address, let alone your password. If in doubt, don’t give it out.
- If you realize you just revealed your password to impostors, change it as soon as you can. The crooks who run phishing sites typically try out stolen passwords immediately (this process can often be done automatically), so the sooner you react, the more likely you will beat them to it.
If you receive communication you believe to be suspicious please contact the ESU IT Help Desk Email: helpdesk@emporia.edu Phone: (620) 342-5555.
