The holiday season is a prime time for criminals to target your information. Stay safe by being aware of the most common efforts to steal personal and financial data.
Phishing
These scams attempt to obtain confidential information or hijack your email account to send spam by crafting messages that appear to be from a trusted source. Links in these emails will direct you to websites that look like the sites for services you use and will ask you to enter your username and password or other personal information.
Remember:
- Never click links in emails that appear to be suspicious and never respond to an email requesting sensitive information.
- Simmons College will never ask for your password or ask you to click a link in an email to submit it.
- Secure Simmons website addresses begin with https://and end with the .simmons.edu domain. Additionally, Simmons login pages have green visual identifiers to let you know you’re in the right place.
Social Engineering
These scams manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information and can occur both online and offline. Criminals may pretend to be someone else—either by phone, in-person, or via email—in order to request financial or personal details, or to ask that you take some action, such as completing a financial transaction. Always be wary of these requests, even if they appear to come from someone you know.
Before releasing personal or College information in response to a request, always establish:
- The sensitivity of the information and your authority to release it.
- The real identity of the other party.
- The purpose of the request.
If you suspect that sensitive information at the College has been released inappropriately, please report the incident to Public Safety at 617-521-1112.
Other Information Security Resources