Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Phishing Emails

This is a reminder that Manhattan College ITS will never ask you for your username and password. There is another round of Phishing Scams making their way around the internet.  We felt it would be a good time to remind people to be wary of these emails.

How to tell if the email is real or phishing:


  • Is the email signed by a generic entity?  Can you truly identify specifically who the email is from?  Emails from Manhattan College ITS will typically be signed "Client Services" or "Manhattan College ITS".
  • How is the email written?  Does the email contain grammar and spelling mistakes?
  • Does the email seem legitimate?  Sometimes just reading the email, it feels funny in your gut.
  • Does the email ask you for personal information?  Manhattan College ITS will not ask you for personal information via email.
Please use this information not only regarding your Manhattan College account, but also for your bank account and other personal account information.

If you receive any unsolicited email or phone call from an entity, including an entity you recognize, proceed with caution.  You best bet is almost always to hang up and then call the entity at a known number to verify the legitimacy of the communication that was made to you.  You're better off safe than sorry.

What should you do if you have fallen victim to a phishing scam?

Depending on the type of information that you provided the steps vary:
  • If a username and password was provided, immediately log in and change your password.
  • If personal account information (a bank account, credit card information, social security number, etc) immediately contact those institutions to let them know what happened.
If you receive an email identifying itself as Manhattan College ITS and you are not sure if it is real or not, feel free to forward the email to its@manhattan.edu for verification.