Dear Cal Poly Humboldt,

We want to take a moment to raise awareness about phishing scams and share important tips on how to protect your personal information. Recently, a phishing email targeting one of our colleagues was detected on campus. This type of scam is designed to trick individuals into providing their login information and Duo information. It’s a good reminder to stay alert.

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. Use Duo push or a hardware token whenever possible. If you have to use an authentication code, ensure the website ends in duosecurity.com or humboldt.edu. Scammers may try to trick you into revealing this code to gain unauthorized 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 within GMail or to security@humboldt.edu.

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