It's common for there to be a rise in phishing campaigns that specifically target聽university students at the start of a new academic year.聽
Phishing is a form of fraud used by cybercriminals to encourage users into revealing information or installing malware. The scammers send emails pretending to be from reputable companies聽and it often directs users to reveal personal information such as name, address, date of birth, phone number, student ID, National Insurance Number, bank account details, etc.聽They聽often come聽disguised as communications from the Home Office,聽the聽Student Loans Company,聽PayPal and even聽BU services聽such as the library.聽
Phishing emails may contain聽attachments or web links that聽will automatically download malicious software onto the user鈥檚 computer or聽redirect the user to a fake聽website where they will be asked to type in their login credentials.
How to protect yourself
We work hard to keep BU cybersafe and there's lots you can do too. For starters, don't share any of your login details聽with anyone - we'll never give your BU login details to a third party so you'll never need to use them on systems that aren't ours. Always think twice before clicking on a link that has been emailed to you - here are some examples:
- An email from someone asking you to log in to a Microsoft or BU IT website to release an email
- A notification that your account is expiring/disabling and requires you to log in to stop from happening
- An email that includes a link to a shared document, requiring your immediate action
- Unsubscribed link to Microsoft newsletters - the link could be taking you to the fake login page.
We strongly encourage everyone to report a security incident like phishing, as this could lead to further cyber-attack on other BU users. Sometimes, it may only need one compromised BU account to attack other BU users or launch a sophisticated phishing campaign.
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If you are ever in doubt, please contact the IT Service Desk on 01202 965515 (option 1).聽
More information
- Check our stay safe online web pages for more tips and information on being cybersavvy.
- Read the .
