The end of the semester is prime time for scammers to target UWM students. The newest type of scam involves multiple steps to gain access to your UWM account. Here’s what you can look out for:
- You may receive an email saying it is the Help Desk, or Microsoft Support, and your account will be deactivated.
- The email has a link taking you to Google form where you enter your personal information, including your phone number.
- You receive a text message pretending to be the Help Desk or Microsoft Support asking for your authentication code (MFA).
- Your account is now compromised.
Once the scam is complete, this cycle continues with scammers sending out more of these emails. This also leads to job scam emails being sent.
How to protect yourself:
- If you do not have a support request open, the UWM Help Desk will not contact you.
- UWM Help Desk and Microsoft will not text or call to ask for your multi-factor code (MFA).
- Do not fill out any unexpected forms that are sent to you.
- If you are unsure about an email, verify its legitimacy with the UWM Help Desk. You can also forward the email to abuse@uwm.edu, and a member of our cybersecurity team will help you verify the email.
If you believe you have been targeted by this type of scam, please contact the UWM Help Desk.