Watch Out for Text Scams at WCU
Please be advised that WCU has been made aware of text message scams targeting the campus community. These messages are impersonating WCU employees or high-ranking officials like the University President or a department head but come from unknown numbers.
Scammers try to create a sense of urgency, either impersonating as someone in a position of authority or asking for a quick favor claiming to be "too busy" to do it themselves. They might request personal information or even ask you to buy gift cards. Cybercriminals specifically target groups of people and impersonate someone familiar to gain trust. If you receive a suspicious request, whether it is from a text message, an email or a phone call, it is always a good practice to verify the request. Contact the person directly through a known, trusted method (such as their official phone number or email address) before taking any action, or report the request to the IS&T Help Desk.
Here are 5 Tips to Protect Yourself:
1. Be cautious of texts asking for personal or account information.
2. Never share your password over text.
3. Don’t click on links or call numbers from suspicious messages.
4. If something feels off, verify the request yourself or report it to the IS&T Help Desk.
5. The safest approach is to ignore texts from unknown numbers.
Stay alert and help keep our WCU community safe!
If you have responded to the text or clicked the link and provided your WCU account information, please reset your password immediately at https://password.wcupa.edu.
To see the latest phishing attempts, visit our Phish Bowl at: https://www.wcupa.edu/infoServices/security/phishBowl.aspx.
To learn more about what phishing is, visit the Phishing: Don't Take the Bait! knowledge article: https://wcupaprod.service-now.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0011256.
If you have any questions, please contact the IS&T Help Desk at https://www.wcupa.edu/servicenow.
