Subject line: Plea, Request, Quick Favor – Body: Request you purchase gift cards
This email below has been confirmed as malicious or fraudulent by the Information Security department. If you have received this phishing email, do not open any attachments or follow the link(s) in the message; simply delete the email.These email phishing scams rely on impersonation and social engineering tactics to engage with victims to ask them to purchase gift cards. The email appears to come from someone you know. The request is usually urgent and the requestor might note they can’t be contacted at the moment. Some will request specific types of cards, e.g. Amazon or Best Buy.
Sometimes the email asking for the cards will be proceeded by a quick email asking you if you have a minute. The follow up email has the request for gift cards. The email address might be spoofed to look like a uthscsa.edu address or it might be a Gmail or other email provider address. Delete the emails and don’t interact with the emailer.
