The Dartmouth Information Security Team is excited to introduce the Phish Bowl: a list of phishing scams within the Dartmouth community that is updated on a weekly basis. Though it is not meant to be a comprehensive list, you can check here to see current trends and determine best actions in case you are the recipient of a similar phishing attempt.
Types of phishing you may experience at Dartmouth
Actual examples of phishing attempts within the Dartmouth community
What should I do if I receive a phishing email or phone call at Dartmouth?
Phishing attacks are designed to trick recipients into providing personal information or clicking on malicious links that may contain malware. There are many types of phishing you may encounter, including (but not limited) to the following:
- Email Phishing – an email that looks legitimate but is designed to trick the recipient into providing sensitive information
- Spear Phishing – targets a specific individual in an organization, often by gathering information about the individual before launching the attack
- Whaling – targets a senior executive or other highly privileged role, with the intent of gathering more sensitive and valuable information
- Smishing – involves fraudulent SMS messages
- Vishing – a form of phishing attack conducted via phone call
Some of the most common phishing attempts at Dartmouth involve fake internship or job opportunities for students. These emails often create a sense of urgency by claiming that there are only a few spots available, urging recipients to reply immediately with their personal email address or other private information before the spots are taken.
Other recent phishing attempts at the Dartmouth community have included the following:
- An email claiming to be from a dying widow wanting to give away a $7 million inheritance
- A phone purporting to be from Dartmouth’s Department of Safety and Security, saying that the recipient’s child was arrested and asking for money via Venmo to pay for a “second chance diversion program.”
- A message claiming to be from Dartmouth President Sian Bellock with an offer for a free piano.
The majority of phishing attempts you receipt at Dartmouth will likely come in the form of email phishing attacks. If you receive an email that you suspect is a phishing attempt, do NOT respond to it—instead, forward it to phishing@dartmouth.edu, mark the message as spam or junk, and block the sender.
If you believe you are on the phone with a scammer, do not provide any information, hang up the phone immediately, and block the caller. If the phone call is harassing you or threatening your health/safety, report the call to Dartmouth’s Department of Safety and Security at 603-646-4000 or the local police agency where the call was received.