GENERAL SAFETY TIPS
The SF State University Police Department is providing this public safety advisory as a reminder for community members to be aware of and apply to reduce your risk of being victimized. Always remember that if you see something suspicious, say something.
Below is a list of tips we recommend that you apply to ensure the security of you and the community.
Risk Reduction Measures
- Be aware of your surroundings. Report all suspicious activity to local law enforcement.
- If at all possible, never walk alone. Try to walk with at least one person or a group.
- Lock your doors and windows. Secure your doors and windows when you leave the room.
- Keep your phone on. Don’t let your phone out of your sight.
- If you are being followed by a suspicious person, go quickly to a well-lit area and/or group of people.
- Trust your instincts. If you are uncomfortable in a situation, then trust your gut reaction and get out of that situation as soon as possible.
- If you see something, say something.
PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY!
The SF State University Police Department is providing this public safety advisory as a reminder for community members to be aware of and apply to reduce your risk of being victimized. Always remember that if you see something suspicious, say something.
Below is a list of tips we recommend to help to prevent your property from being stolen.
Risk Reduction Measures
- While studying in the library or classroom NEVER leave your property unattended or out of your sight.
- Carry your wallet or purse on your body and not in your backpack.
- Secure all doors and windows when leaving your residence.
- Secure all doors and accessible windows prior to going to bed.
- Secure all valuable items. (For example: laptops, cell phones, iPods, etc.)
- Remove high-dollar items from vehicles (GPS’s, purses, wallets, MP3 players, laptops, backpacks, luggage, etc.) and do not leave your property in plain view.
- Be aware of your surroundings.
CYBER-RELATED SCAMS TARGETING UNIVERSITIES, EMPLOYEES, AND STUDENTS
College students across the United States continue to be targeted in a common employment scam. Scammers advertise phony job opportunities on college employment websites, and/or students receive e-mails on their school accounts recruiting them for fictitious positions. This "employment" results in a financial loss for participating students.
From OnGuard Online
You open an email or text, and see a message like this:
"We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity."
"During our regular verification of accounts, we couldn't verify your information. Please click here to update and verify your information."
“Our records indicate that your account was overcharged. You must call us within 7 days to receive your refund.”
The senders are phishing for your information so they can use it to commit fraud.
Delete email and text messages that ask you to confirm or provide personal information (credit card and bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords, etc.). Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via email or text.
The messages may appear to be from organizations you do business with – banks, for example. They might threaten to close your account or take other action if you don’t respond.
Don’t reply, and don’t click on links or call phone numbers provided in the message, either. These messages direct you to spoof sites – sites that look real but whose purpose is to steal your information so a scammer can run up bills or commit crimes in your name.
Area codes can mislead, too. Some scammers ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a "refund." But a local area code doesn’t guarantee that the caller is local.
If you’re concerned about your account or need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card.
You can take steps to avoid a phishing attack:
- Use trusted security software and set it to update automatically. In addition, use these computer security practices.
- Don't email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information.
- Only provide personal or financial information through an organization's website if you typed in the web address yourself and you see signals that the site is secure, like a URL that begins https (the "s" stands for secure). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.
- Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call to confirm your billing address and account balances.
- Be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other malware that can weaken your computer's security.
Forward phishing emails to spam@uce.gov – and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the email. You also may report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a group of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing.
If you might have been tricked by a phishing email:
- File a report with the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
- Visit the FTC’s Identity Theft website. Victims of phishing could become victims of identity theft; there are steps you can take to minimize your risk.
PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORIES
There are no recent Public Safety Advisories at this time.