Impersonation scams are a challenge that all universities face, and unfortunately, Villanova is no exception. By pretending to be someone from the University, cyber criminals hope to manipulate your trust and cause you to act without thinking. But armed with some knowledge, you can spot and avoid these attempts rather than taking the bait.
Common Impersonation Scams
Cyber criminals typically impersonate University community members with a level of authority or influence over others, such as the president or provost, deans, faculty members, and staff managers. They also disguise themselves as notable campus departments, like Human Resources and Payroll.
Common scams include:
Athletics Recruiting Scams: They express interest in you or your student as a prospective recruit. They ask for information such as grades, test scores, contact information, and video highlights to appear legitimate. After some conversation, they ask for a fee to secure a visit or invite you to a fake camp that requires payment.
Athletics Recruiting Scam Examples
Fake Shared Document/Attachment: They send an unexpected shared document for your review in an attempt to steal your login credentials or data. They may also send a message with an attachment that, when opened, will download malware on your device.
Fake Shared Document/Attachment Examples
Free Item Giveaway Scams: They offer an item(s) that they are giving away for free. They encourage you to contact them via a non-Villanova account if interested, then request personal information or a fee to deliver the item(s).
Free Item Giveaway Scam Examples
Information Update Scams: They pose as a member of Human Resources, Payroll or similar office and ask you to confirm your direct deposit or other sensitive information. On the other side, they may pretend to be an employee or student reaching out to one of these departments asking to have their details changed.
Information Update Scam Example
Technology Support Scams: They send an email claiming your password is expiring and provide a link to a non-Villanova website to update it. In another instance, they may reach out claiming there is an issue with your device and request remote access to fix it or direct you to a fake website.
Technology Support Scam Example
Urgent Favor/Task Scams: They ask for a favor while they are busy in a meeting, expressing a sense of urgency. Once you respond, they request that you buy gift cards and send them the gift card information digitally rather than delivering the items physically.
Urgent Favor/Task Scam Examples
Tips to Avoid University Official Impersonation Scams
Staying vigilant and cautious can help you stay one step ahead of cyber criminals. Remember: If it feels off, trust your instincts!
- Never share personal or financial details with someone you don’t know or trust.
- Be skeptical of unsolicited outreach. Verify unusual requests by contacting the University official using details found in the Villanova Directory.
- Resist the pressure to act immediately. Think before you click, respond or open attachments.
- Verify a link is legitimate by hovering your cursor over the link to see where it leads.
- Look for inconsistencies in the sender details. Is an internal email marked with an [EXTERNAL] tag? Is the sender using a non-Villanova email account to contact you?
- Pay attention to uncharacteristic mistakes like poor spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
- Never send money via payment methods like gift cards, prepaid debit cards, cryptocurrency, wire or money transfer.
- Take steps to block unwanted calls and text messages, and report suspicious emails as phishing.
What to Do if You've Been Scammed
If you know or believe you’ve been scammed, don't panic. You can take action to limit the impact and help stop others from being scammed.
- Stop all communication with the cyber criminal immediately and block their number or email address.
- Document and preserve any evidence of the scam, including dates, times, payment amounts, and communications.
- Report the scam to UNIT and the Villanova University Department of Public Safety.
- Report the fraud to your financial institution.
- Change associated account passwords and monitor your accounts for any suspicious activity.
Additional Resources