Phishing
Periodically, Algonquin College computer users have had their email accounts compromised by a ‘Phishing’ attack. This resulted in the loss of email and email service (until fixed) for the affected users.
Phishing (a play of words on “fishing”) is the act of a cyber-criminal using false pretenses to acquire usernames and passwords, credit card information, other personal information and electronic money by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication such as email or texting. Phishing communications often can also contain links to rogue websites that are infected with malicious software, which is then downloaded to your computer to conduct further cyber-attacks on College networks. The impacts of phishing can be very significant and include account and data theft, identity theft, loss of money, and system compromise, among others.
To avoid being a phishing victim and putting College resources at risk, never open emails, texts or attachments or click on links from external parties that you do not know or trust. Send a copy of the phishing email (by dragging the entire email to a new email so that we receive full header information) to spamorscam@algonquincollege.com. Then permanently delete the email by clicking “shift” + “delete”.
ITS staff will never ask for your username or password through email or texting. If you any have questions or concerns about an unexpected e-mail or text message, please contact the ITS Service Desk at extension 5555, or by e-mailing 5555@algonquincollege.com.
Craig Delmage, CISSP