Would you be suspicious if you received an email from your manager asking you to buy gift cards? If it’s not part of your normal responsibilities, you should be!
There have been multiple recent cases of cybercriminals masquerading as a Yale dean or department chair. They use this persona to convince their people to buy hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards.
Here is a typical scenario:
A scammer impersonates a Yale official via email. Sometimes it's a direct request to buy gift cards. They may also ask for a phone number to text you and build your trust.
Either way, they aim to get you to buy gift cards and supply the code on the back to activate them. They will then purchase merchandise with the stolen cards, often reselling it on Amazon.
Follow these tips to steer clear of gift card scams targeting Yale:
- Be wary of urgent requests demanding purchase. Look for suspicious email subject lines such as: "Are you available" or "Can you do me a quick favor".
- Hover over the sender’s name in the message and carefully review the sender’s address.
- Never reply to suspicious emails or text messages.
- Report suspicious emails right away.
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Ready to keep building your cyber muscles?
Check out our resources and upcoming events:
- Complete our Cybersecurity Awareness survey to help us plan for 2023.
- Register for our February 9 Lunch & Learn, Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places, and our February 14 Jeopardy game.
- Take part in our New Year, New You campaign through February 28, including our bee naming contest and a scavenger hunt.