October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, an annual reminder for individuals to strengthen their digital defenses.
Those who work and study at Case Western Reserve University can help protect the community from cyber threats, such as phishing—deceptive messages designed to steal personal or university information.
To spot a phish, watch for the following red flags in emails, texts or shared documents:
- Urgent or threatening tones
- Unusual senders or channels
- Messages from CWRU about account issues
- Suspicious links or attachments
- Requests for sensitive information
Case Western Reserve University will never ask for a passphrase, Duo code or banking info via Google Forms or email. Additionally, CWRU will never contact you about account issues via text or personal email. It is advised to avoid opening unexpected links and attachments or scanning QR codes from unknown senders.
How to report phishing
If you receive a suspicious message, don’t click anything and forward the message to help@case.edu with the subject line “Phishing Report – [Brief Description]”.
If you clicked a link, contact the [U]Tech Service Desk immediately at 216.368.HELP (4357) or help@case.edu.
