The Retriever's Guide to Cyber Security: Six Scams to Avoid
Protecting your digital identity, one click at a time.
Retrievers, listen up — Six cyber scams you do not want to fall for.
Number one: Random Duo Push notifications.
If you didn’t log in, don’t hit accept. That’s literally letting an attacker walk into your account.
Number two: Free gift cards, pianos, and tools in your inbox.
Yeah, no. If they ask you to ‘send cash first,’ it’s a total scam. Also, your professors and the administration are not going to ask you to buy gift cards for them.
Number three: Job offers that sound like, ‘Work two hours a week, get $500.’
If it’s that easy, it’s fake. Real jobs are on Handshake.
Number four: Phishing forms.
UMBC will never ask for your password, Duo code, social security number, or birthday through Monday.com or Google Forms. If you see that, report it faster than you sprint to class after hitting snooze.
Number five: Copy this command.
If you get an error on a website that asks you to copy a command to the Run menu, PowerShell, or Terminal, don’t do it! This is an attacker trying to compromise and take control of your machine.
And number six: ‘Your UMBC account is about to be deactivated.’
Your account isn’t going anywhere. Don’t click the link.
Stay alert online, don’t get scammed.
Report anything suspicious to security@umbc.edu!