Beware of Email Scams

The University of Nebraska Information Technology Services team and UNO Department of Public Safety have learned of ongoing email scams being sent to members of the UNO community. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to read this timely warning to take necessary precautions to avoid becoming a victim.

The emails in question appear to come from a known sender encouraging the recipient to purchase iTunes or other gift cards. Through the scam, recipients are asked purchase what end up being fake gift cards with either an upfront check that ends up with insufficient funds, or a promise of reimbursement

If you receive offers such as these, be skeptical and always find ways to verify their authenticity. Watch for grammatical errors and ask yourself if this is the kind of email you would normally see from the person who sent it. Additionally, remember that a utility or agency will also NEVER ask you to pay a bill through gift cards. If you believe that the offer may be real, reach out to the sender in some other way besides email to verify.

If you do believe you have fallen for this or any other scam or phishing attempt, report it as soon as possible to the NU Cybersecurity office at its-sec@nebraska.edu or UNO Public Safety office.

In general, please also keep these common safety tips in mind when checking or opening suspicious emails:

• If you suspect an email as suspicious after opening it, do not respond to them
• If you receive an email asking you to review a document or click on a link , check with the sender of the email list first, preferably via phone to make sure it is a valid request.
• Report any suspicious emails to the NU Cybersecurity office at its-sec@nebraska.edu or phishing@nebraska.edu.
• You can verify the sender of an email by hovering your mouse over the sender's name.