Burglar walking out of a phone with a social security card in his hands

A social security number (SSN) is a very sensitive piece of identifiable information, and when it falls in the wrong hands, it can put you at risk for identity theft and lead to:​

  • A credit card being opened and used under your name leaving you with large amounts of debt and a poor credit score​
  • Your tax refund benefit being stolen​
  • Your social security or medical insurance benefits being stolen

Email is not always a secure form of transfer and should never be used to transfer SSNs. As WSU Policy 19.01 states, SSNs should not be stored on university and personal devices, which includes email storage.​

For questions about how to safely transfer this type of sensitive information, email askinfosec@wichita.edu.

Did you get an email that promises you amazing financial aid, grants or an amazing job opportunity from UNICEF? If so, ask yourself – could this be a scam?

Key things to look for:

  • Sender: Does the sender make sense? UNICEF or anyone promising money would not legitimately email you from another college or a free email account (Like @outlook.com or @gmail.com).
  • Do they claim that you cannot email them back with your @shocker account because it is part of a “reading test” or “checking your attention to detail”?
  • Do they claim to be from a generic organization without a website, physical address, or logos/branding?
  • Are they going to hire you without an interview?
  • Did they claim that they know you, but then ask your name, phone number, name of your university and want your mobile number?
  • Do they only want to talk to you via text?
  • Do they claim you have free money?

If you see this in an email – it’s a scam.

They will send you fake checks. They work out a deal where you cash the check and send them the money via bank transfer app. The scam is the checks take a few days to clear, but the bank makes the money available to you right away. When the checks fail to clear and turn out to be fake, the bank will take the money out of your account. There is no insurance for this. You end up losing it all.

Be smart – do not take checks from unknown sources and think about emails before getting excited.

Unsure if an email is a scam? Report it. Hit the “Report Phish” button in outlook or send the message to spamreport@wichita.edu.

Starting Tuesday, Oct 31, WSU Information Technology Services (ITS) will roll out Microsoft’s Multifactor Authentication (MFA) for currently enrolled students who are taking classes.

Microsoft’s MFA enhances security by requiring the use of a secondary device at login to verify your identity. This new security will protect users by making it more difficult for others to access your account. It uses two different forms of identity: myWSU password, and an additional authentication method.

Currently enrolled students who are taking classes are required to register and use MFA. Student employees will use Duo to authenticate while an employee. When they are no longer a student employee and revert to student only status, they will use Microsoft MFA.

Software impacted by MFA will be email, Blackboard and all Office 365 products.

Authentication methods available:

  • Highly recommended: The Microsoft Authenticator App, a simple, fast and highly secure two-factor authentication application, available to download from Microsoft (app only available for iOS and Android devices)
  • Non-WSU email address
  • Phone number

Additional information on what to expect and how to set up your Multi-factor Authentication can also be found on the ITS webpage.

For questions, contact the ITS Help Desk at 316-978-4357, Option 1 or email helpdesk@wichita.edu.  

 

WSU Information Technology Services (ITS) will roll out Microsoft’s Multifactor Authentication (MFA) for currently enrolled students within the next few weeks. MFA enhances security by requiring the use of a secondary device at login to verify your identity, which will ensure that others cannot access your account by obtaining your password.

WSU applications impacted by MFA will be email, Blackboard and all Office 365 products.

Currently enrolled students who are taking classes are required to register and use MFA. Existing WSU employees who are taking classes are not required to register for MFA. WSU staff and faculty already use Duo for multi-factor authentication.

Next steps:

Be on the lookout for more information from WSU ITS regarding when this functionality is available and how to set up your Multifactor Authentication. Learn more about MFA.

Questions: Contact ITS Help Desk at 316-978-4357, option 1 or helpdesk@wichita.edu.

Over the next few weeks, WSU Information Technology Services (ITS) will roll out new functionality regarding student use of Microsoft’s Multifactor Authentication (MFA).

MFA helps protect users by making it more difficult for someone else to sign in to their WSU account. It uses two different forms of identity: myWSU password, and an additional authentication method.

Software impacted by MFA will be email, Blackboard and all Office 365 products.

Currently enrolled students who are taking classes are required to register and use MFA. Existing WSU employees who are taking classes are not required to register for MFA. WSU staff and faculty already use Duo for multi-factor authentication.

Next steps

Be on the lookout for more information from WSU ITS regarding when this functionality is available and how to set up your Multifactor Authentication. Learn more about MFA online (wichita.edu/studentMFA).

#FakeJobsFraudChecks www.wichita.edu/FakeJobsFraudChecks

“GREAT PART TIME JOBS: Personal Assistant, Dog Walker, Car wrap advertising or mystery shopping” is what the email you receive claims; they ask you to cash a check, cashier’s check, money order or an electronically delivered check to cover supplies or any number of reasons. The emails are scams that will cost you time and money.

The checks typically look real, and by the time the bank figures it out, the scammer is gone, and the bank has taken the money from your account. Be very careful of gift cards and digital money apps when working with people you do not personally know.

Unsure if an email is a scam? What to look for in fraud emails:

  • They ask you to contact a free email service instead of the organization, that’s a red flag.
  • The sender builds urgency so you don’t question the details.
  • They spell words in odd ways, such as “Part_time,” or use zeros instead of the letter “o.”
  • They send you a picture of text instead of text.
  • The job offer sound amazing, little work, amazing employer, no interview and you never asked for it.
  • They ask you to send them money via an online money transfer service.
  • They email wanting you specifically, but then they ask for your name and email address.

Send potential scam emails to spamreport@wichita.edu. Have additional questions? Contact the information security department at Askinfosec@wichita.edu.

ITS is required to encrypt the local hard drives of university-owned computers in order to maintain compliance with state-mandated security procedures. This has been the standard practice for Windows computers and also needs to be implemented on university-owned Apple computers.

If you are using a university-owned Apple computer, that device will need to be encrypted in order to stay in compliance. To do this, you will be required to enable FileVault on your Apple computer using JAMF/Self Service by Sept. 15.

Failure to comply will result in your device automatically being disabled and locked after Sept. 15.

Instructions for how to encrypt your university-owned Apple computer can be found on the ITS Help Desk webpage under “Additional Resources.”

If you have issues encrypting your computer or to unlock it after Sept. 15, submit a ticket or contact ITS Help Desk at 316-978-4357, option one.

Watch out for email frauds. Unknown senders emailing you unsolicited job offers and requesting that you cash large checks on their behalf are likely scams.

Watch out for the following in fraud emails:

  • The sender of the message is not the person offering the job.
  • The jobs being promoted are too good to be true, like a personal assistant position who works from home with few responsibilities and large payouts.
  • The email address is from a free email service when the job is for a prestigious international organization. Those organizations have their own email address that official emails will be sent from.
  • The email will ask that you use a free email service as a “reading test” or a “test of your attentiveness.” This helps them bypass fraud monitoring tools.
  • An insistence that conversations are only conducted via email or text, with statements around the inability to meet in person or speak over the phone due to “being busy” or “on travel.”
  • A request to cash checks they mailed to you, and a request of you to send them the money back via a cash app like Venmo or PayPal.
  • There is no job application or other job paperwork alongside the email.

Never cash checks received from an unknown source. With fake checks, once the bank finds out, they will take the money out of the account.

Suspicious emails that are likely frauds can be emailed to spamreport@wichita.edu.