Overview

To maintain the safety and security of the University and its data, it’s important that every student and employee practices safe computing and online habits.  To assist in this endeavor, ITS recently simulated a phishing email to determine how many employees “click the unsafe link”.  A phishing test was sent to faculty, staff, and students on Wednesday, February 8, 2018 with the subject line “Survey”.  

There are several clues that this was not a legitimate email:

  1. It was not sent from an @UWF.edu email address.  Instead, the email was sent from helpesk@itdeptsurvey.com.
  2. The from address has a typo.  It reads helpesk instead of helpdesk.  It’s common for phishing emails to have incorrect spelling and typos.
  3. Hovering your mouse over the “Enter Now” button, you’ll notice the link is not a UWF link or a link to survey software supported by UWF.
  4. The ITS Help Desk does not typically offer monetary rewards for completing surveys.
  5. The email does not have any of the usual branding or logos of a ITS Help Desk communication.
  6. The subject line is generic and not descriptive.

Results

Of the UWF email accounts that received the email, 35% (and counting) clicked the unsafe link.  Please do your part and always remember to think before you click!  We appreciate your continued vigilance in maintaining a safe and secure computing environment.