Alert about scam calls and coronavirus phishing messages

Criminals are currently trying to scam university staff and students with scam calls and phishing messages that appear to be coronavirus bulletins. Various scam calls and phishing messages are very common these days – every student and member of the university staff is responsible for information security! Read the information security guidelines of the University of Helsinki and instructions regarding phishing messages. Please also regularly visit the examples of email scams page.

Scam calls

• Criminals often present themselves as Microsoft help desk personnel and use an Indian accent. The calls often come from an office, and you can hear people speaking in the background. Mac users are also targeted.
• The calls may come from a number that seems to be in Finland.
• The criminals want to install remote control software on the victim’s computer. Due to information security restrictions, it is difficult to install programs on university computers, but you can easily install one on your home computer. Under no circumstances install the software on your computer!
• If you receive a scam call, hang up immediately!
• More information about scam calls is available on the website of the National Cyber Security Centre

Coronavirus scam emails

• The message directs you to a website that seems to contain up-to-date information about coronavirus or contains an attachment file
• Do not click any links in the message or open attachment files!

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