A large number of NC State students are being targeted through “phishing” scams to steal their money and identities. Email and phone scams from the so-called “FBI” or “NC State University Police” are becoming more common, and students are encouraged to stay cautious in order to protect themselves.
According to Marc Hoit, the vice chancellor for Information Technology (IT) at NC State, scams are increasing with the rise of technology usage in our culture.
“The basic idea behind phishing is generally: people send you an email, and it looks like something you’re interested in,” Hoit said. “So you click on it, answer a question or do something with it to get connected to a site that wants to collect information, steal your credentials, take your identity or otherwise cause some harm to you.”
Hoit explained that scammers can target students in different ways, including posing as university administration.
“They make it look like it’s a message from the University,” Hoit said. “It looks like it’s the University saying ‘you haven’t paid your fees and we’re going to drop your semester.’ They do all sorts of things to make you believe something of yours is at risk.”
Since the advent of the internet, more information is online, which gives increased ease-of-access to scammers. Hoit explained some red flags that students should be aware of.
“When you get a phishing message, it can come in a lot of different forms,” Hoit said. “One of the ways that’s common is it comes to look like something you expect. So, they mimic your bank and say ‘There’s a problem with your account, click here to make sure your account’s okay. They are doing some from the IRS, because it’s tax season.”
Joyce Pagan, second-year majoring in international studies, discussed her experience with scammers.
“My phone has the app for caller ID and this call registered as the FBI,” Pagan said. “This man said he’s from the FBI, and someone had stolen my identity to traffic cocaine into the United States from the Dominican Republic. He kept repeating that, and said since they couldn’t identify that someone had stolen my identity, I was the one who was going to get in trouble for it.”
Pagan said that she received a second phone call after the first caller hung up on her.
“A second lady called and it registered as NC State Police,” Pagan said. “That’s when I started to freak out. She said I disrespected her FBI agent. She literally called seconds after the fake FBI agent hung up on me. She told me I was expelled from NC State and that’s really when I started to panic.”
Pagan eventually resolved her issue by calling NC State University Police, which informed her it was a scam.
Phishing scammers use a variety of tactics, like threats and intimidation, to obtain people’s information. According to Hoit, hundreds of thousands of phishing attempts are stopped every day by IT’s defense infrastructure.
Robert Paynter, a third-year studying biochemistry, said his boss was scammed once in a phishing attack and that he now understands how to identify them.
“I mean it is kind of scary, because they call you,” Paynter said. “But now I know: The IRS doesn’t call you, so it doesn’t really scare me now. The IRS will never call you. They will mail you, and let you know ahead of time, before they do anything.”
There are a few main warning signs that students can keep watch for when protecting themselves online.
“If anyone calls you and asks for your information, don’t give it to them,” Hoit said. “No bank is going to call and ask for your account number, they know your account number. No police officer is going to call and say ‘give me your Social Security number.’ The University will never call you and ask for your password because something is broken. It just doesn’t work that way.”
Student who receive suspicious emails can forward them to the Office of Information Technology’s phishing-reporting email address at phishing@ncsu.edu or call the office at 515-HELP.
