Please be advised of the following phishing message sent out by someone purporting to be an NYU alumni:
From: Sales Manager <n95nyc@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 16, 2020, 12:43 PM
Subject: Re: N95 Masks (Boxes: $250 | Pairs: $30)
To:
Attached is the FDA approval. Sorry it did not go through!
On Mon, Mar 16, 2020 at 12:04 PM Sales Manager <n95nyc@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi guys,
I’m an NYU alumni and have an overstock of FDA-approved and
NIOSH-certified masks that I ordered straight from the manufacturer. I’m
selling *boxes of N95 masks* for $250 ($12.50/mask) and *sets of two N95
masks* for $30 ($15.00/mask). I understand the price is quite steep, but
unfortunately it was very expensive to ship them to New York during such a
global shortage.
The masks are FDA approved (attached is certification) and NIOSH
certified (the air filtration rating of the US National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health). Please find the FDA certificate attached.
Boxes are delivered in original packaging. Sets of masks are repackaged
because the masks come in boxes of 20.
Email me for more information, I accept Venmo or Zelle.
Stay Safe!
The goals of this phishing message appear to be:
- Using a health scare to trick victims into clicking an attachment that may contain malware.
- Tricking victims into providing their sensitive payment details.
Please be reminded:
- Scammers commonly use health scares and natural disasters as opportunities to trick victims into disclosing sensitive/confidential information.
- Do not click embedded links or open attachments in unexpected messages.
- Do not reply to phishing messages.
- Never provide sensitive information over email or on the phone.
- When in doubt of the legitimacy of a message, verify by phoning the sender at an independently obtained phone number, such as the phone number listed on their organization’s website.
- Phishing messages may be reported to phishing@nyu.edu.
For more information on COVID-19 scams, see the following NYU IT Security News & Alerts blog posts: