[Monkey2013] Spear Phishing Attempt on Campus

[Jeff Faunce]

Several of you received a phishing email that was presumed to be from Dr. Humphreys. The subject was "Are you on Campus" and asked if you were available. The email had Dr. Humphrey's correct name, title, and office but the email address was from "@my<mailto:Humphreys.jone at my.com>" domain.  We are in the process of removing all of the emails from our server.

This is a good example of spear phishing. Spear phishing targets you with information you are familiar with so you are more likely to respond. The attackers get this information off our website or off your social media sites. This type of attack has been very successful around the world costing individuals, banks, companies, and universities millions of dollars.

IT will be adding the below disclaimer to all emails that are from outside of TAMUC and the A&M system.  You will see this disclaimer on legitimate emails as well as scam emails.  Its purpose it to help you identify emails that pretend to be internal but are not.

**** WARNING: This email originated from outside of the Texas A&M University-Commerce email system. DO NOT click links or open attachments unless you expect them from the sender and know the content is safe ****

Tips on how to combat phishing attempts
-        Double check the email address and its contents.
-        If you are not sure about an email contact the helpdesk.
-        Never send confidential information via email.
-        Avoid posting too much personal information online.
-        Keep yourself educated about the cyber neighborhood we all live in now.

Tim Murphy | CIO
Center for IT Excellence | Texas A&M University-Commerce
Tim.murphy at tamuc.edu<mailto:Tim.murphy at tamuc.edu>

P.O. Box 3011 | Commerce, TX 75429-3011
Tel 903-886-5969 | Fax 903-886-5007 | www.tamuc.edu<http://www.tamuc.edu/>

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