The faculty union at IUP and the other State System of Higher Education universities has issued a warning that some of their members appear to have been getting emails from people impersonating chapter presidents in an apparent “phishing” scam.
The emails to members of APSCUF reference chapter treasurers and ask for help with “outstanding requests.” The union says the scammers are using the publicly available names of APSCUF leaders, and while there is no evidence that the APSCUF website or email systems have been compromised, they could be attempting to gain trust and obtain personal data and/or financial information.
APSCUF dealt with a similar issue in August and warned its members at that time. They published a list of tips for people to follow to avoid getting scammed:
A few ways to make sure you do not fall for one of these phishing scams:
- In a new email and using the address you know is correct, contact the person the scammer is pretending to be to make sure the request is legitimate.
- Never buy/give gift card information over email.
- Do not give phone or bank passwords to people asking for them.
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