Security Alert: Gift card phishing scams

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reporting an increase in gift card phishing scams that people are receiving around the country. Using email or text message, the scammers will pose as someone in authority asking their employees to purchase gift cards on their behalf, resulting in financial loss. 

ITS is asking all WCM staff to be on alert for similar phishing attempts. Scammers may pose as your supervisor, department administrator, directors, and even C-suite level members and deans.

How to protect yourself

Follow these steps if you find yourself in this situation: 

• If you receive a request from your supervisor that is out of character, contact them directly via phone call or in person to verify that the request is legitimate. 

• Contact ITS to report any messages in your WCM account that seem suspicious. Use the Phish Alarm feature in Outlook to send your email to ITS Security for analysis. 

• Message its-security@med.cornell.edu to report suspicious text messages coming from WCM colleagues. Provide as much information as you can to help ITS identify whether it is a phishing attempt, such as screenshots, the number it came from, what time you received it, etc. 

• You can also report phishing attempts sent to your personal accounts using the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).