In the digital age, technology has transformed the way that we live our day to day lives. Unfortunately, there are consequences that come along with the rise of technology, such as a rise in cybercrimes.

Within the past several weeks at NIU, students have been faced with several online phishing scams in their inboxes, bringing about a new phishing training program on Blackboard. 

Why are so many students falling for these scams? The answer – because the education surrounding online safety is severely lacking in schools.

According to a study done by Walden University, Americans ages 18-29 were significantly more likely to use social media compared to other age groups. The presence of teenagers and young adults online is much higher than those in elementary in middle school, so shouldn’t we be educating older students as well?

Phishing is especially prevalent on college campuses, however, as the user base is extremely diverse with both students and staff. Along with a very large and diverse database, phishers will also target universities for financial gain as well, such as requesting false tuition fees from unsuspecting students.

Many students most likely lack online safety awareness, especially those with little experience in dealing with online scams. High schools and universities need to be educating students on online safety much more frequently.

NIU has taken the initiative in educating students about the dangers of online scams by providing free phishing prevention training on Blackboard, which is one big step in protecting students’ online safety. 

Another step schools may take is implementing a required class or course that addresses how to identify and prevent scams, which guarantees a smaller percentage of students falling for phishing scams. 

Another long term solution on the university’s end is developing a better response plan in the case that a scam is successful, to prevent long term damage to the school’s database. 

However, there are also some measures that NIU students can take now to prevent falling victim to an online scam. 

It is okay to be suspicious. Being cautious never hurts when it comes to your online safety, and checking the validity of an email before responding could be extremely important. A fake email or website can be spotted very easily sometimes, such as checking for a misspelled URL or a disreputable email address. 

One extremely common tactic used by online phishers is creating a sense of urgency in their requests. For example, phishers may say you have two days to send money for an upcoming housing payment. If you receive an urgent email, be sure to double check its validity first.

“The best thing anyone in the world using email can do to protect themselves from these scams is to educate themselves,” said NIU’s Information Security Manager Susie Armbrust.

With the rise in cybercrimes, educating yourself is the most important step to take to ensure your information is not compromised online.