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Tip: Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Marist College for the start of the spring semester!  We have important Cybersecurity information for all employees and students. 
 
The beginning of any academic semester is a busy phishing season.  Cybercriminals are aware of the Higher Education academic schedule, and take full advantage of the early semester rush and the influx of faculty and students in order to bombard community members with a wide variety of malicious emails and other scams. 
 
Since mid-January, we have seen a large increase in cyber activity, including the following: 
 
  • Impersonation emails 
  • Robocalls claiming there is trouble with your Amazon or Apple account 
  • Website pop-ups that claim your computer is infected and you have to call “tech support” 
  • Infected email attachments 
  • Fake invoices 
 
We will continue to see this activity in the coming weeks and we depend on the Marist community to report these issues swiftly.  Remember to forward all suspicious emails to phishing@marist.edu If you believe you have fallen victim to any computer scam, contact the Help Desk right away at x4357 (HELP) or helpdesk@marist.edu 
 
Now is a good time to review some of our best practices: 
 
  • Double (and triple!) check the “from” address – verify that the from address in an email is what you expect.  The Marist EXTERNAL EMAIL banner helps identify off-campus communications. 
  • Check the link before you click – Hover over a link before you click it.  You can see where it is sending you at the bottom of your browser.  If an email claims it is from Marist personnel but the link doesn’t go to a Marist service, report the email as suspicious.  
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - Marist accounts are protected by MFA while off-campus.  You should also enroll all your personal accounts whenever it is offered, especially on online financial services. 
  • Don’t be afraid to verify – If you get a phone call, ask questions, including offering to hang up and call back on a verified, known phone number.  If an email looks like it is from someone you know, try picking up the phone to verify it came from them. 
 
Stay safe and keep sending those suspicious emails!  We review each email and we always respond.  Have a wonderful spring term. 
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