There is a scam going around where a Behavioral/Academic Support report is purportedly sent by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs to faculty. An example is below. Do not click the link or run anything that downloads. Use the “Report Phishing” feature of Outlook to report it to the campus email team. Thank you!
Phishing Alerts
Scam alert: Texts impersonating college leadership
Please be aware of a new phishing/impersonation scheme where an unidentified phone number texts an employee’s personal cell phone and impersonates a college leader like Dean Elliott or former Dean Jeff Brown. The end goal is a common scam — the purchase and delivery of Amazon gift cards. An example can be seen in this […]
Scam alert: Student Support Case notification
We’ve received several reports of the scam going around. This is a message purporting to be from the “Vice President for Public Affairs” via a Harvard email address about a behavioral/academic support student report for a class. Do not click the link or run anything that downloads. Use the “Report Spam” feature of Outlook to […]
Scam: High Important: University of Illinois office365 update
There is a scam campaign going around this week encouraging people to update and validate their Office accounts. This is not a legitimate message and you should not click the link or enter your credentials in the site it goes to. If you do click the link and your password is compromised, it will be […]
Scam: Incentive Payout Plan
Another version of the “sent from yourself, blank with only an attachment” scam campaign is circulating today. Please be vigilant about emails in this format, especially ones offering too-good-to-be-true benefits or urging immediate action to avoid dire consequences. Check with your local IT support for a second opinion before taking any action, and use the […]
Scam: “Urgent-System Maintenance And User Verification
A phishing campaign email is going around prompting people to update their Office 365 portal/account details to avoid losing access. This is not a legitimate message. Do not click any links or provide any login credentials! Report the message as spam in Outlook and delete it.
Scam alert: “Revalidate Your System Login Credentials”
Over the past week, we have observed an uptick in scams urging Illinois employees to update login credentials, MFA settings, and direct deposit details. These messages often take the form of a calendar invite with an attachment, rather than an email with links. If you receive an unexpected calendar invite about any of the above […]
MASSMAIL – Security Alert – Social Engineering Attempt Targeting Employees via Text Message
Dear colleagues, We are making you aware of a recent social engineering attempt targeting employees via text message. The messages are similar to this: “Hi , let me know if you received my text. – Thanks, “ Please be aware that these messages are not legitimate. This is a fraudulent attempt to impersonate university leadership and solicit […]
You’re invited: Join School Meeting (All School Staff)
A fake Teams meeting invite has been circulating today. Please be vigilant when receiving invites, especially unexpected ones, especially ones that contain attachments. When in doubt, reach out to your local IT support or security@illinois.edu.
Staff Assessment Report for 2025-2026
Heads-up, there is a phishing campaign going around that is prompting people to click through and log in to a fake authentication screen. Once they log in, their accounts are compromised and used to send the same fake email to people in their address book. DO NOT CLICK the link, and DO NOT SIGN IN […]