The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) warns citizens to remain vigilant for malicious cyber activity seeking to capitalize on interest in and devastation from Hurricane Harvey*.
Emails and social media posts requesting donations from duplicitous charitable organizations commonly appear after major natural disasters. We advise the Lubbock and surrounding community to exercise caution in handling any email with subject line, attachments, or hyperlinks related to Hurricane Harvey, even if it appears to originate from a trusted source. Fraudulent communication will often contain links or attachments that direct users to phishing or malware-infected websites.
The TTU IT Division and US-CERT recommend the following cybersecurity practices to protect yourself and your information resources from this and other email scams:
- Verify the legitimacy of any email solicitation by contacting the organization directly through a trusted contact number. You can find trusted contact information for many charities on the BBB National Charity Report Index, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, or local news media;
- Do not click on links contained within an email, unless you are certain of the sender's identity and expecting the information;
- Do not open attachments unless you are certain of the sender's identity and expecting the information;
- Delete and do not reply to any suspicious or suspect emails;
- Update your desktop, laptop, and/or mobile device anti-virus software; and
- Keep current on critical system updates:
- Windows Users: https://www.askit.ttu.edu/windowsupdate
- Mac Users: https://www.askit.ttu.edu/macupdate
We encourage you to practice cybersecurity, to be aware of these activities designed to steal business and personal data, and to learn more cybersecurity tips online at http://www.cybersecurity.ttu.edu. For more information or questions, please contact your local IT expert or an area IT consultant. Some area IT consultants are listed at http://www.cybersecurity.ttu.edu under “Additional Resources.”
*Source: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2017/08/28/Potential-Hurricane-Harvey-Phishing-Scams