Just as students and faculty members have begun to fall back into a routine for the spring semester, many of them were greeted with a dangerous attempt to throw them off balance again.

Mercyhurst officials were recently made aware of multiple phishing attempts to hack into the campus’s wireless network.

For those who aren’t the most technology-savvy, phishing is an act performed by a third party acting as a legitimate source, in this case the IT Help Desk or another official “@mercyhurst.edu” contact.

Many students have found themselves opening and possibly replying to emails from these “phishers” who ask personal information from them.

These emails may ask for a variety of personal information, including credit and bank account information and Mercyhurst network details, among other things.

These emails can obtain information from users by including a link to “verify the account,” and with a legitimate-looking sender’s address, many are fooled into complying and sending out this information.

The Information Technology Help Desk has been notified and many of its staff members are trained in helping callers deal with these attempts.

IT Help Desk employee Hannah Cox claims she has been made aware of the issues and is making the necessary precautions to ensure the attempts do not become serious.

Students and faculty members are advised to ignore these emails and never respond to them.

If there is an email from a Mercyhurst account asking for a verification or personal information, immediately delete the message.

Responding to an email of this type could affect yourself and other Mercyhurst accounts who did not reply to the email; in fact, it could potentially put the entire network in danger.

Direct questions to the IT help desk, located in the lobby of the Hammermill Library or at 814-824-3200.