University warns students about phone scam

By Haley Jones

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

University warns students about telephone scam

KU students reported receiving calls from someone claiming to be from the KU Comptroller’s office and asking students to update their banking information by calling an 800 number.

Todd Cohen, director of University Relations, said the comptroller’s office wouldn’t contact students to update information by phone. He said students should never give out private information over the phone.

“Unfortunately, college students are a frequent target for these kinds of scams,” Cohen said.

Voice phishing, or vishing, involves scammers requesting personal information through voice messages or phone calls. Cohen said the best defense against vishing was awareness of ways the University might contact students for personal information, including requests through secure Web sites, registered University mail and the Kyou portal.

Information Services is preparing to canvas the campus during October, which is Cyber Security Awareness month, teaching ways to be safe online.

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