Dear Cal Poly Humboldt Community,

We want to give you a quick heads-up about some sneaky text message scams (also called SMS phishing or “smishing”) that have been making the rounds lately and targeting members of our campus community—students, staff, and faculty alike.

These scam texts try to catch you off guard by pretending to come from someone you know or trust, often with a sense of urgency. Lately, we’ve seen two main flavors:

A Couple of Real-Life Examples:

• In one case, a scammer pretended to be a senior administrator and texted a staff member asking for a “quick favor”—specifically, to buy Apple gift cards for a presentation and text back the codes. This is a classic scam tactic.

• In another, a student got a message claiming to be from the IT Help Desk, with a link to “verify your account.” It looked official but led to a fake site that captured the student’s login info and Duo code. The attacker then used that account to send phishing emails to others at Humboldt.

Here’s How to Spot a Scam Text:

• It feels urgent or a little weird. “Can you help right away?” or “I’m in a meeting, just do this for me real quick.” That’s a red flag.

• It asks for gift cards. No one at Cal Poly Humboldt will ever ask you to buy gift cards or text back the codes.

• It looks like it’s from someone you know—but it’s not. The name might be familiar, but the number won’t be.

• It includes a login link. Campus departments won’t ask you to log in or provide Duo codes via text.

What You Can Do:

• Pause before you act. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

• Don’t send gift cards or personal info over text.

• Double-check. Reach out to the person or office directly using their campus email or official number.

• Report it. Take a screenshot and send it to security@humboldt.edu, or use the “Report Junk” button on your phone.

We know everyone’s busy, and scammers try to take advantage of that. A little extra caution goes a long way. Thanks for looking out for each other- and if you’re ever unsure, we’re here to help.

For more tips, visit the Information Security website and take a peek at the “Don’t Be a Victim” section.

Stay safe and take care.