When in doubt, hang up or refer computer questions to IT

WVU Medicine employee Laura Blosser recently thwarted a scam when she hung up the phone on a person who claimed to be a Microsoft employee. The person wanted her to restart her computer because, he claimed, Microsoft had been receiving error messages from it.

Fortunately, Blosser was able to figure out quickly that the caller was actually a con artist who wanted to take control of her computer. She directed them to WVU Information Technology but the caller declined. Then, she simply hung up.

By gaining control of Blosser’s computer, the scammer was attempting to launch a spear phishing attack in the form of an email.

“Laura did the right thing by ignoring the caller’s requests and demands that she perform actions on her computer,” Tareva Palmer, chief information security officer WVU Medicine said. “Informed employees like Laura Blosser are WVU Medicine’s best defense against cyber-attacks.”

To report IT security concerns or for more information, contact the WVU Medicine IT Help Desk.