The University, along with other education institutions, is actively being targeted by cyber criminals seeking to gain money and personal data from staff and students.
Whilst the University has a range of technologies in place and teams working hard to help protect us, Information Security is a shared responsibility and you are one of our most important defences against cyber criminals.
Please continue to be cautious about the emails and other communications you receive, particularly those with links or attachments, including links to OneDrive or SharePoint files and folders. Be especially cautious where the sender is creating a sense of urgency and report any suspicious emails, phone calls or text messages.
Telephone calls and text messages can be reported to the IT Service Desk (by email to servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk or using our Online Portal https://myit.abdn.ac.uk).
Emails can be reported using the Report Phishing button in Outlook.
How the scam works:
A staff or student email account is compromised by cyber criminals. One common method is through links to externally shared OneDrive or SharePoint files or folders.
This compromised account is then used to send emails to other staff, students and/or external organisations with an offer to distribute high value items from an individual who had passed away, with the recipient only needing to pay shipping costs. However, the items do not exist, and any funds handed over would be lost.
These scams allow attackers to gather valuable personal information such as addresses, phone numbers and potentially payment information such as credit card and/or bank details. This information can facilitate further fraud.
The emails urge the recipient to respond to an external email address (such as Gmail) or direct to a phone number. This is a common tactic to take the conversation to an alternative communication platform as quickly as possible. This means attackers can continue a dialogue after the compromised account is discovered and secured.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our data and systems safe.
Should you have any concerns or queries please contact the IT Service Desk:
Login to MyIT: https://myit.abdn.ac.uk
Status Page: status.abdn-online.ac.uk
Email: servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk