By: Elena Panora-Jara
Contributor
When earth science major Eliza Sweeney, a sophomore, received an email warning that her university account could be deactivated because she was registered at multiple institutions, the message made sense.
The first-year transfer student had active email accounts at other schools, so she wondered whether the university somehow knew about them.
“I literally had to text my mother a screenshot, and I was like, ‘Do you think this is real?’” Sweeney said.
It was not real. It was a phishing attempt and just one kind of message that students regularly encounter in their Outlook inbox. These emails range from scams promising free items to impersonations of legitimate university communications.
As spam and phishing emails continue to make their way into inboxes, students must determine whether a message is real or not.
According to Tom Armstrong, vice president of technology and chief information officer, the university uses multiple layers of cybersecurity to filter through emails for malicious links or harmful scams, while staff members review suspicious emails.
The university also relies on students reporting messages they believe are phishing attempts.
At the same time, the university must determine the level of cybersecurity enforcement it uses to protect students without hindering genuine communication.
“We try to find the balance between ‘How locked down do we want to be?’ versus how open so we can enjoy that collaborative sort of nature in higher ed,” Armstrong said.
But even with safeguards in place, Armstrong recognizes that phishing emails can be difficult for users. He said attackers are becoming more sophisticated, and emails are becoming increasingly realistic.
“The logos are right; the colors are right. They’re using the name of someone right. So really it’s getting harder for our users,” Armstrong said.
For students like nursing major Maylin Mercedes, a freshman, a key factor in telling the difference between a phishing attempt and a real email is looking for the university logo at the bottom.
“I know that all the verified emails and stuff, they have it. All the scam ones I noticed don’t have it,” Mercedes said.
One email detailed a remote job offer, but Mercedes immediately recognized it as suspicious.
“I just knew like, oh, that’s too good to be true. Like there’s no way,” Mercedes said.
Armstrong said students who are unsure about an email they received should pause before responding and verifying the message before doing anything else.
“If you’re not sure, call the help desk,” Armstrong said.
According to the “Help Desk” page on InsideSouthernCt.edu, it is important to contact the help desk if you suspect you are a victim of malicious spam/phishing.
“It is not only for your protection, but also for the protection of the university that you have your account and university machines inspected” the website states.
“To be honest, that happens every day; it’s not a big deal,” Armstrong said. “We would much rather have 30 people call and be able to tell all 30 of them, nope, your account’s fine.”
For Sweeney, the experience changed how she approaches suspicious emails. Instead of relying solely on how convincing a message appears, she verifies the sender through the SCSU faculty directory.
“I’ll see if the name of whoever was sending it matches up with anyone in the faculty,” Sweeney said.
