Dear Cal Poly Humboldt,

We are writing to inform you about a recent influx of phishing emails targeting our university community resulting in people providing their passwords to scammers and then allowing the scammer to authenticate to their Humboldt account by authorizing their Duo prompt request. These emails often appear legitimate but are designed to deceive you into providing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links.

To protect yourself and the university, please take note of the following guidelines:

1. Verify Links Before Clicking: Always hover over links in emails to verify the URL before clicking. Be cautious of URLs that look suspicious or unfamiliar.

2. Do Not Respond to Suspicious Emails: If an email looks suspicious, do not reply or provide any information. Phishers often impersonate legitimate organizations to gain your trust.

3. Never Share Personal Information via Email: Please remember that you should never click on any link or respond to any email requesting your social security number, credit card information, password, or any other personal information. Cal Poly Humboldt will never request this type of information via email, nor should you enter your Cal Poly Humboldt account username or password in any website unless it ends in humboldt.edu.

4. Duo Authentication Prompts: Only approve Duo prompts if you initiated the login request. If you receive an unexpected Duo prompt, do not authorize it, as this could be an attempt by an attacker to gain access to your account.

For more information on how to identify and report phishing emails, please visit our Information Security Office website at Cal Poly Humboldt Information Security Office.

Your vigilance is crucial in protecting our community from these threats. If you receive a suspicious email, please report it immediately to our IT support team.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Information Technology Services

Cal Poly Humboldt | 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521 

Submit a support ticket or check systems status at: Cal Poly Humboldt ITS