Holidays are generally joyous times filled with family and friends. However, the holidays for students can be potentially dreadful, depending on how sharp they are when checking their emails.
An email sent out last week by the school’s Information Technology (IT) Service Desk warned students about the high risk of falling victim to phishing scams during the holiday season.
The email reported that there is a 40 percent increase in fraud this time of year, with a 22 percent increase in online fraud. Some phishing scams could include look-alike websites, job opportunities, free gift cards and eCards.
The IT Department urged students to be more vigilant on emails they read and click, never to enter usernames and passwords from email and to use different login credentials across networks.
Cal Poly Pomona is not unique in experiencing phishing scams, as it happens to college students across the country.
Luckily, some students might not receive any phishing scams during the holidays, thanks to the IT Department filtering out emails.
Tim Lynch, the associate vice president for strategic communications and marketing, lauded the IT Department for the work done to try protect students from these scams.
“IT has numerous tech resources to filter out a great majority of things that are suspicious,” Lynch said. “But nothing is foolproof, so sometimes things do land in inboxes.”
Kary Tomlin, a first-year history student, said she is grateful she has not received any phishing scams.
“It’s good that they’re bringing awareness about it,” she said. “We need to be more educated and aware that it’s happening.”