Pitt Information Technology has identified two new email phishing scams targeting the University. Both may appear to originate from a pitt.edu address.
Scam 1: Your Office 365 Email Will Be Deleted
The first scam warns that your Office 365 email account will be deleted if you do not take action in 24 hours. It asks recipients to copy and paste a harmful link into their web browser and provide their username and password when prompted. Below is a sample of the scam.
**************
Subject: NOTICE BY ADMIN VERIFY YOUR OFFICE 365
Dear University of Pittsburgh Staff/Student,
Renovation on our Servers and Administrative Software will take place. We are excited about the new capabilities and services we will be able to offer students
Our records indicate that your office 365 has two different logins with two different school portals. Kindly indicate the two info logins as soon as possible. To avoid termination of the two school portals within 24hrs, we expect you to strictly adhere and address it
We will process your termination request shortly; You will lose all your emails associated with this account
If you have only one college account, fill in the correct user and passcode and submit. But if you are in a dual credit college, Pls fill in the correct username and password for both schools and submit
If you have no knowledge about the request process, kindly update to cancel the request below.
Copy and paste the URL Below into the address bar of your web browser to cancel the request ( CLICK HERE)
**************
Scam 2: Fake Job Opportunity Scam
The second scam advertises a fictitious job as a personal assistant. The message may use a variety of Subjects and asks recipients to click a link to apply or request further details. Below is a sample of the scam.
**************
Subject: INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Hello, how are you doing? An administrative assistant to perform various administrative tasks like making or receiving payment and sending gifts, keeping record and processing paperwork when necessary with a good weekly pay is needed, please find the position and some basic information below.
Position: Personal Assistant
Type: Part-Time Job
Pay: $400 weekly
Hours: Average of 11hrs weekly
This position will be home-based and it's a flexible part time job, you can be working from home, School or any location. Click Here for further details or to sign up.
Job Placement & Student Services
Copyright ® 2023. All rights reserved
**************
If you received this message (or any message similar to it), please report it as a phishing scam by forwarding the email message as an attachment to phish@pitt.edu. Detailed instructions on reporting scams are available at http://technology.pitt.edu/phishingscams.
Pitt IT strongly recommends that you do not reply to unsolicited emails or emails from unverifiable sources. If you were not expecting to receive such an email, confirm with the sender prior to interacting with the message. If you must interact with the message, avoid clicking on links contained in such emails. These may lead to sites that contain malicious software, or sites that attempt to steal your credentials. If a link looks suspicious, you can hover over the link with your mouse to preview the URL without clicking on it.
In addition, Pitt IT recommends that all students, faculty, and staff install Antivirus and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. Departments can submit a help request to obtain Malwarebytes for multiple machines.
Please contact the Technology Help Desk at +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.