Payroll scam hits US universities as phishing wave tricks staff

1 alarming rise of fake legal requests

Key Takeaways:

  • 1. Universities in the U.S. are facing payroll theft attacks by hackers targeting staff through phishing emails.
  • 2. The hackers exploit human behavior and lack of strong phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (MFA) rather than software flaws.
  • 3. Tips to stay safe include limiting online personal information, being cautious with email links, and enabling 2FA.

In 2025, universities in the U.S. are under a new wave of cybercrime as hackers target staff for payroll theft through convincing phishing emails. The attackers utilize social engineering tactics to gain access to payroll accounts via phishing emails impersonating campus alerts or HR updates. They manipulate internal systems and enroll their phone numbers for persistent access, allowing them to modify payroll profiles undetected. To stay safe, individuals are advised to limit online personal information, exercise caution with email links, and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security.

Insight: The cyberattacks on universities emphasize the vulnerability of institutions to financially motivated threat actors who exploit human behavior and lack of strong security measures.

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This article was curated by memoment.jp from the feed source: Fox Scitech.

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