Cybercriminals are very active during the holidays with phishing scams. You may have recently seen an increase in fraudulent emails, gift card scams, fake package tracking links and other suspicious messaging in your USF and personal emails. Consumers spend more time online during the holidays than usual, visiting multiple websites and providing personal and financial information more frequently. Cybercriminals take advantage of this increase in activity and try to trick consumers by slipping in their messaging alongside reputable emails, orders and texts.
We are currently seeing a lot of scam emails containing bogus job offers. Unexpected job offers that come through email are almost always phishing attempts from cybercriminals. These messages usually do not address you by name, may ask you to click or cut and paste a link, and often entice you with money to gain personal information.
Trust your instincts. If something doesn’t seem legitimate, it usually isn’t. Be mindful of typos or misspelled company names, email addresses and websites. Never provide personal or financial information such as social security numbers and bank account data by email. If you see any type of suspicious messaging in your inbox, please report it directly in Outlook by clicking “Report” within the email.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact USF IT:
Chat: https://itchat.usf.edu
Phone: 813-974-HELP (4357)