IT News

Phishing & Other Scams


Phishing Infographic


Beware of Phishing Attempts: Top 10 Things to Look For

  • The University community should remain on high alert for any suspicious emails or activity that may compromise our organizational data or employee information.

Don't Get Phished: Protect Yourself and Stop Identity Theft

  • Phishing is a form of fraud, in which an attacker tries to learn private information (such as login credentials) by masquerading as a reputable entity or person (usually via email).

Phishing at The U: Scam to Look Out For!

  • At the U, we use a variety of measures to protect email, including advanced threat protection tools. However, scammers are constantly changing tactics. Being aware of phishing schemes and understanding email best practices can help ensure your email stays safe.

PhishAlarm: New Outlook Tool to Report Suspicious Emails

  • PhishAlarm is a tool in Outlook that allows you to easily report a potential phishing email. With a simple click of the "Report Phish" button, the suspicious email will be forwarded to the IT Security team for review, enabling them to respond quickly to threats.

Report Junk Emails Within Outlook

  • Have you received junk emails in your inbox? If so, you can easily report the junk email and block the sender through Microsoft's "Report Junk" feature within Outlook (desktop, mobile, or online).

Beware of Supplier Chain Scams

  • Don’t fall victim to the growing danger of supplier scams! These scams include purchase order scams where criminals pretend to be representatives of vendors and redirect shipments. Supplier imposter fraud also involves altering payment details or creating fake services.

Critical Information: Credible Cyberthreat (October 2020)

  • On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, the University was notified of an imminent cyberthreat that has been made against hospitals and health systems throughout the U.S. The warning came from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The cyberthreat did not specify the University of Miami Health System or South Florida but was considered extremely credible. Although the threat was specifically for hospitals and health systems, anyone on the University network could have been a source of entry to the entire University system. We'll continue to monitor this cyberthreat, and encourage everyone to stay vigilant. There was no impact to the institution. 

Stop Scam Phone Calls and Vishing

  • Vishing (a combination of the words "voice" and "phishing") is the fraudulent practice of attempting to steal information or gain unauthorized access to your personal information via a telephone call.

Avoid Technical Support Scams

  • Take precaution when answering a phone call from an unknown or 1-800 number, or if you see a "help" window pop up in your web browser unexpectedly. These could be technical support scams where a representative is offering to help fix a computer problem or sell you a software license.

Visit the Information Security Office's website for additional online security articles.