Please be aware, Student Tech Support has seen an increase recently in suspicious emails sent to Gwinnett Tech students in an attempt to get students to reveal sensitive information.
What is phishing?
Phishing emails are deceptive messages that appear to be from legitimate sources, they may try to impersonate Gwinnett Tech or other trusted institutions, to get you to reveal your personal information, login credentials, or financial details. There has been an increase recently in phishing emails targeting Gwinnett Tech students.
Scammers want your password, don't tell them!
It seems obvious not to tell anyone your password, but scammers are getting sneaky in the ways they may try to get you to reveal it.
Some messages claim to be from Tech Support, student services, or other Gwinnett Tech departments. Some of the messages try to use an impressive sounding name with the title of Doctor claiming they are from the school. Don't be fooled.
These emails did not come from the school.
Never tell anyone your password or text verification code
No one from the school will ever ask you for your password or text message verification code.
Any message that asks for this information is a scam.
What do phishing messages look like?
The recent messages are all taking a similar form, a blank message with an attention getting subject line but no text, the messages all contain a document. A link in the document takes students to an online form asking them to reveal information.
Check the sender
The easiest way to spot these messages is by looking at the sender. If the message comes from an account you don’t recognize, it is likely fake. Official messages from the school will be from a @gwinnetttech.edu address. If the message is from a strange-looking Gmail account or other free email account, it is most likely fake. Sometimes the message may come from a compromised student account @student.gwinnetttech.edu, watch out for that also. Messages sent from compromised student accounts have been reduced by our recent security steps but it does sometimes happen.
Fake Job Offer
The subject lines will vary making them sound like a job offer, some recent examples include:
IT'S NOTIFICATION
PROSPECTIVE TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT
Internship Opportunity
Student Job Advising
Part Time Work
Act Now
Off-Campus Remote Job
The form link in the document makes it sound like a job application but it is all fake.
Do not open the link, do not fill out the form.
If you receive a suspicious message, please report it
Reporting suspicious messages helps us purge these messages from the Gwinnett Tech student email system.
If you receive a suspicious email, please take a screenshot of it and send it to spammail@gwinnetttech.edu
We need to know the Subject, Sender, and Date of the message so we can purge the messages from the system. Please help us protect your fellow students and report these messages if you see them.
See more examples of Email scams targeting Gwinnett Tech Students - Phish Bowl
If you have questions please contact the Student Help Desk.
stuhelpdesk@gwinnetttech.edu | 678-226-6407 | Tech Support desk on campus, hours and location