Here are some tips to help you avoid being a victim of phone and email phishing scams:

• UH will NEVER ask for your credentials, including password verification, via an UNSOLICITED email or phone call.  Any UNSOLICITED email or voicemail requesting you to do so should be treated as a potential phishing attack.
• If you receive a call from the IRS, local police agency, or other agency claiming that you owe money, hang up the phone.  If you are unsure of whether or not the call was legitimate, you can call the number back at the agency's public phone number that you acquired from a legitimate source.    
• Be aware of “spoofing,” a practice in which a person can change the phone number that appears on your caller ID.  A call may look as if it is coming from a police agency, even when it isn’t (spoofing is also used in email scams).
• Keep your credit card, checking account, and Social Security numbers to yourself. Don't tell them to callers you don't know — even if they ask you to “confirm” this information. That's a trick.
• If you receive a “special offer,” research it with your consumer protection agency or state Attorney General’s office before you agree to send money.
• Beware of offers to “help” you recover money you have already lost. Callers that say they are law enforcement officers who will help you get your money back “for a fee” are scammers.
• UH will never ask you to modify your inbox or adapt security measures via an email link. Any email requesting you to do so should be treated as a potential phishing attack.
• If you receive an email from an unrecognized source, please exercise caution in dealing with its content. Do not open attachments unless you know it is safe to do so.
• If you receive an email, either from an external or internal contact that you suspect may be a phishing attempt, please notify Information Technology Services at: phishing@hawaii.edu
• Save any suspicious emails or phone messages to report to your local law enforcement agency.
• If you feel that you have been a victim of fraud, please report it to your local police department.
  

 

Additional information about Phishing at UH can be found in:  http://www.hawaii.edu/askus/966

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