There has been an uptick in reports of phishing scams submitted within “Contact Us” forms and questionnaires designed for comments and feedback on departmental websites.

Recent phishing scams of this nature include:

• An urgent and intimidating message about “copyrighted” material on your website, with the sender often claiming to be a “certified photographer” who owns the copyright
• Instructions to click on a link to view the supposed copyrighted images
• A threat of legal action if you do not respond

Do not become a phishing victim: 

• Do not respond or click on a link in these types of fake messages. They are trying to get you to click on the link in order to infect your computer with malware called “IcedID”. These scams are particularly dangerous because the malware they contain can be spread to other devices on our network. 
• Never enter your credentials. The links in these scams often direct people to a “sites.google” webpage where they “need” to enter their username and password in order to view the supposed copyrighted images, however, as soon as the credentials have been entered, a ZIP file of IcedID malware begins automatically downloading to the device. 
• If you are unsure about the content or validity of a message, do not respond to it. Forward the email to the Information Systems Security Team at infosec@wfu.edu for further analysis.