Increase in major phishing incidents impacting campus

CCIT Staff and Marketing and Communications, Clemson University
November 10, 2023

CCIT and the Office of Information Security are warning the campus community to remain on high alert when viewing emails or text messages. In the past week, Clemson faculty and staff have been sent a malicious payroll email and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) alerted individuals about fraudulent text messages 

The payroll scam email resulted in a forced reset of passwords to ensure security for those who clicked on the link. Through SC MyBenefits Portal texts, cybercriminals were attempting to access Payroll/Benefits information for state employees. 

It is essential for members of the campus community to practice heavy due diligence when reading emails or text messages, and to pay attention to the subtle ways messages or senders are posing in official capacities. Also, do not click on links in emails on your cell phone because it won’t display the sender’s full information. 

The Clemson campus community is encouraged to frequently visit the CCIT Cybersecurity Alerts webpage for updates about phishing or other scams: https://ccit.clemson.edu/cybersecurity/cybersecurity-alerts/.