Phishing and Suspicious Emails

What Is Phishing?

Phishing is a social engineering tactic designed to trick you into revealing personal or sensitive information or to install malware on your devices, such as computers, tablets, or smartphones. These deceptive messages can be sent via email, phone calls, text messages, or other channels. Phishing attempts often use urgent or alarming language, offer deals that seem too good to be true, or mimic legitimate sources. By responding—such as entering your information, clicking a link, or downloading a file—you risk having malware installed, your data stolen, and your network compromised.

Phishing scams can also appear as pop-ups on websites, fake login pages, paid advertisements, social media posts, and unsolicited tech support offers.

Common Forms of Phishing

Here are a few of the most common forms of phishing

• Requests for personal information or to update payment info
• Password reset emails you did not request, or MFA login approval
• Prompts, fake package shipping updates, or fake late payment notifications

If you think it is suspicious don’t take the bait, report it

Avoid clicking on links in unexpected emails. Even if the email appears to come from a trusted domain (like @plaza.edu), it could still be fraudulent. Cyber criminals often send messages from trusted domains, making these scams difficult to detect. If you’re unsure, verify the sender’s information by checking their official website.

How to Handle a Phishing Message

• Identify the email or SMS message as suspicious using the following clues
  1. Requests for personal information
  2. Password reset emails you did not request
  3. Prompts, fake package shipping updates, or fake late payment notifications
• If you believe a suspicious message has been sent to your Plaza College email or receive a text inquiring about your Plaza College account report it:
  • Report the email or SMS to support@plazacollege.edu so we can investigate.
• If you have already clicked on a phishing link or have entered in your information on a suspicious site:
  • Change your password immediately.
  • Contact the Plaza College IT department at (718) 505-3502 or via email at support@plazacollege.edu