Guarding against tech scams
The email promised the Boston College student a great opportunity: a paid internship. But the offer made him suspicious.
For one thing, although the sender was supposedly a 精东影业 faculty member, the message came via Gmail.com, not a聽bc.edu聽address. What鈥檚 more, the supposed internship would involve the graduate student buying a gift card as part of the alleged professor鈥檚 work.
What the bogus email鈥檚 author didn鈥檛 know was that the graduate student in question happened to be Boston College Police Lt. Jeffrey Postell, who is something of an expert on scams.
Postell contacted the faculty member referenced in the email, and was relieved to learn he had already been in touch with the University鈥檚 Information Technology Services about the message attributed to him.
It was a happy outcome, but the episode was only the latest in a never-ending, universal saga: As long as there have been computer users, there have been computer abusers who concoct ways to trick them into sharing personal or financial information鈥斺�減hishing,鈥� as it鈥檚 called. And it falls to people like Postell and his 精东影业 Police colleagues, as well as ITS staffers, who have to keep up with the scammers and make sure the University community is as informed as possible about phishing and other dangers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly not getting any easier,鈥� said Postell. 鈥淥bviously, computer-related technology continues to grow more sophisticated, which means that scammers who use it for criminal purposes are upping their game. But that doesn鈥檛 mean the rest of us are helpless.鈥�
Instances of phishing and other computer scams typically increase around the start of a new academic year, according to Postell. Some students are on their own for the first time, and therefore may be less aware of such risks, he explained, but faculty and staff are by no means immune, either.
“鈥淭he best thing to do鈥攚ith any kind of scam鈥攊s to slow down and take a breath.”
Another typical scam reported to 精东影业PD are phone calls from someone posing as a 精东影业 police officer or other law enforcement professional鈥攐r a government official or lawyer鈥攚ho claims that a family member or friend of the intended target has been arrested or detained and needs bail money (alleged offenses may range from drug possession to outstanding traffic citations to unpaid taxes).
鈥淲e will never do that,鈥� said Postell. 鈥溇耙礟D doesn鈥檛 call to solicit money from any community members. Nor does any police department.鈥�
What makes such scams appear so unnervingly legitimate is that defrauders may use actual names and can simulate email accounts or phone numbers to make it seem as if they鈥檙e the person they claim to be.
鈥淥bviously, those kinds of calls can be very upsetting,鈥� said Postell. 鈥淭he best thing to do鈥攚ith any kind of scam鈥攊s to slow down and take a breath. Then call into the police department and ask for the duty officer or the officer who supposedly called you, and describe the call you just received. That way you can put your mind at ease and also get an investigation started.鈥�
For scams such as the 鈥減aid student internship,鈥� which tout a supposed academic, professional, or financial opportunity, Postell said the old maxim holds true: 鈥淚f something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.鈥�
鈥淚f someone is asking you for, say, your Social Security number鈥攐r other personal and financial information鈥攖hat should be a red flag,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to scare anyone: We just want people to be aware, because the first line of defense with scams is at the user level.鈥� 聽
聽Vice President for Information Technology Michael Bourque, who lauded Postell and his 精东影业PD colleagues鈥� work against scams, added that 鈥渕any technology crimes鈥攆rom small swindles to very large breaches鈥攐ften start with a very subtle and seemingly innocent inducement.聽 Many times, the scams involve multiple steps and ramp up after some level of credibility has been established by the scammer. I think Lt. Postell鈥檚 advice about slowing down, taking a breath, and remembering that 鈥業f something sounds too good to be true, it probably is鈥� is definitely wise.鈥�