In the past five days, Bradley students have been targeted by two separate phishing email scams.
While one was a routine phishing email, the other manifested physically on campus with posters in various buildings. Yet, they both had one thing in common: they tested students’ ability to navigate online risks.
But Bradley students are far from the only demographic experiencing a rise in phishing scams.
According to the Pew Research Center, about three quarters of US adults have been victims of online scams, with over $16 billion in losses reported in 2024.
Not only is the scope of the scams growing, but so is the potency.
With the help of generative AI, scammers can appear to write, text or even talk like a loved one. Even technologically savvy members of the population can fall victim to these intricate tricks.
Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to protect yourself.
In an email sent to Bradley students, the university outlined several steps for prevention, such as making sure you know who is emailing you, never approving a multifactor authentication ping you didn’t solicit and remembering that classic piece of advice – if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
But sometimes, between grades and life, Bradley students can’t keep up.
One such incident where it seemed too good to be true – and was – slipped through the cracks as a Late Night BU survey. The sender even had posters around the school with the QR code. While the university dealt with it promptly, it should have taken measures to prevent it from happening in the first place.
It was the senior capstone project of a student this time, but next time it could be someone who saw the cracks in our system and decided to take advantage of it.
Aside from carefully reviewing their inboxes, the incident showed that students’ campus postings might be risky too. Bradley needs to implement safeguards and ensure it doesn’t add to students’ concerns.
In today’s technological landscape, students should be wary of scams – but they shouldn’t have to be on edge at all times.
