Chapman University’s IS&T department has reported a recent increase in the number of fraudulent emails being sent from compromised email accounts at Chapman. The most recent messages have been scams offering fraudulent pet-sitting or other part-time jobs, including one this morning, Nov.9.
IS&T reports Chapman is normally targeted with phishing email campaigns in the 3,000 email range. In the past week, that number has risen dramatically. On Nov. 6, IS&T reported 18,000 scam emails, and today Nov. 9, IS&T has reported 29,000 scam emails.
Do not respond; these are phishing emails. The attacker contacts Chapman community members through compromised Chapman accounts, then asks for further correspondence to be done with a non-Chapman email.
Please report any suspicious messages, and stay on guard.
If you are unsure about the legitimacy of an email, please check the Trending Email Scams webpage for status on the latest phishing emails. If you do not see your email posted on the page, please report the email.
How to Protect Yourself
- Sign up for the university’s 2-factor authentication program. This will almost always ensure that no authorized activity will be performed against your email account. Please go to the 2 Factor Authentication website to enroll.
- Do not use the same password for your Chapman account that you use on other websites. For more on password safety, read 5 Tips to Make Your Password More Secure During Covid-19
- Review emails from unknown senders carefully. Any email that tells you to use your own private (non-Chapman) account for further communication should be viewed suspiciously.
- Never send money to someone who contacted you out of the blue, for any reason.
- Please check the Trending Email Scams webpage for the latest updates on the scam emails affecting Chapman.