<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-dc8ed5a0-7fff-d88b-087d-b972f171bc00"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Good afternoon,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">I'm emailing you today as a quarterly reminder that higher education continues to be a target for phishing and cyberattacks. According to the 2025 Global Threat report released by Crowdstrike, cybercriminals continue to use traditional email social engineering tactics that are </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">specifically designed to trick end users into gaining access to their accounts.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Cyber criminals are also using new attacks to steal your information, one example is a technique called "Vishing".</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">What are Voice phishing (Vishing) attacks?</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> - cyber criminals call targeted users and attempt to persuade them to download malicious payloads, establish remote support sessions, or enter their credentials into fake phishing pages. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">This type of attack saw an incredible 442 percent increase in 2024</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">In short, cybercriminals are focused on busy and distracted end users, expecting them to make mistakes. Please analyze and question all calls and emails that ask for information!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Here are some helpful hints we have supplied in the past to help spot phishing.</span></p></span></div><div><br></div><div><div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><b><u>How to recognize email phishing: Can you spot the scam?</u></b></span></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><br></span></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><b>It's important to remember that the FROM address is easy to manipulate on an email. </b>If you receive an email that looks suspicious, is unsolicited and uses poor spelling or grammer, review it carefully before proceeding.  </span></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2"><br></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2"><b>How can I tell whether a message is fraudulent?</b></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><font size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><b>Hover over links to view the actual URL they reference. </b>Note the discrepancy between the text language and the link. If the link goes to an outside address instead of a legitimate SUNY Plattsburgh address, it's a scam. </span></font></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><font size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><b>Identify that the "from" email address matches the display name.</b> The "from" address may look legitimate at first glance, but a closer look at the email headers may reveal that the email address associated with the display name is actually coming from someone else. </span></font></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><font size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-be56ef6c-7fff-e69d-ba4b-f69f4c87b8e4"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Does it have an [External] Flag in the subject line?</span></span> Off-campus messages are marked as EXTERNAL. </span><span class="gmail_default"><i>If an email comes from an address that isn’t affiliated with the apparent sender, it’s almost certainly a scam </i>(though there can be exceptions to this situation).</span></font></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><font size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><b>It came from an @<a href="http://plattsburgh.edu/" target="_blank">plattsburgh.edu</a> address but still looks like a scam. </b>If after inspection you believe that it came from an @<a href="http://plattsburgh.edu/" target="_blank">plattsburgh.edu</a> email address and you still have concerns, please forward those messages to <a href="mailto:helpdesk@plattsburgh.edu" target="_blank">helpdesk@plattsburgh.edu</a>. It may be that the sending account is compromised and we need to take action.</span></font></li></ol></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2"><b>General Guidelines</b></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2"><span class="gmail_default">Phishing </span>scams <span class="gmail_default">typically</span> take the form of targeted email or text messages designed to get victims to engage and establish a rapport.<span class="gmail_default"> The <b>fake </b></span><b>messages </b><span class="gmail_default"><b>are always changing</b>, so be aware of basic safety practices when encountering suspicious messages.</span></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2"><br></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2">The<span class="gmail_default"> </span>goal<span class="gmail_default"> of the criminal</span> is to steal data, money, or both.<span class="gmail_default"> Never part with any of these valuables.</span></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><br></span></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default">If you receive a suspicious message, follow these steps:</span></font></div><div class="gmail_quote" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><b>Do not reply</b>. </span></font></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><font color="#000000"><span class="gmail_default"><b>Mark the message as Spam.</b></span></font></span></font></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><font color="#000000" size="2"><span class="gmail_default"><b>If you have replied </b>or are unsure about what to do, <a href="https://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/resources/technology/csds/helpdesk/index.html" target="_blank">contact the ITS Helpdesk</a> without delay.<br></span></font></li></ol></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font size="2"><span class="gmail_default">As always, should you have any questions about phishing scams or any other </span>cyber-security<span class="gmail_default"> issue, please feel free to <a href="https://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/resources/technology/csds/helpdesk/index.html" target="_blank">contact the Helpdesk</a>. You will also find helpful information on our <a href="https://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/resources/technology/infosec/index.html" target="_blank">Information Security web page</a>.</span></font><div><font size="2"><br></font></div><div><font size="2">Have a good weekend and thank you for helping to keep the campus community cyber-safe!</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br></div></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><b><font size="2">TJ Myers</font></b></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">Director & Chief Information Officer</font></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:small">Information Technology Services</span><br></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">215 Feinberg</font></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2"><a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">101 Broad Street</a></font></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2"><a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Plattsburgh, NY 12901</a></font></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">(o) <a href="tel:(518)%20564-2449" value="+15185643824" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">518-564-</a>5180</font></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:small">(f) 518-564-</span><span style="font-size:small">3817</span><br></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><b><font size="2"><a href="http://plattsburgh.edu/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">plattsburgh.edu</a></font></b></p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><br></font></span></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0pt"><img src="https://web.plattsburgh.edu/files/914/images/SUNY-Plattsburgh-Email-Logo-2018.jpg"></div></div></div></div>
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