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Emma sat at her desk, the soft glow of her computer screen illuminating the darkened room. It was almost Halloween, so it had been a long day at the candy factory, where she worked designing colorful paper wrappers for delicious delicacies. Emma was eager to finalize her design for Frankenfudge before going home. As she sifted through her emails, one particular message caught her eye. The subject line read: “URGENT: Scribble Account Compromised.” 

Emma clicked on the email, which appeared to be from Scribble, the software platform she used to design candy wrappers. The message instructed her to click on a link and log in to update her credentials immediately. The email looked legitimate, complete with Scribbles’ logo. Emma, who had just used Scribble to design the packaging for Frankenfudge and Wicked Witch Wafers, grew nervous as she read the email. What if someone stole her work? 

Just as her finger hovered over the link, a chill ran down her spine. Something about the email seemed off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She glanced around the office, now empty and eerily quiet.  

Determined to shake off her paranoia, Emma decided to take a closer look at the email. She noticed something unusual—the email address didn’t match the Scribble website, and the language, though professional, contained minor grammatical errors. 

Her heart pounded as she realized she had almost fallen for a phishing scam. Emma quickly closed the email and reported it to the candy factory’s IT department. She felt a mix of relief and fear, knowing how close she had come to compromising her hard work and potentially the security of precious Halloween candy. 

Emma’s phone buzzed, startling her. It was a message from her colleague Mark, who was the factory’s taste tester.  

Later that evening, as Emma drove home, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She glanced out the window, half-expecting to see a creepy figure lurking in the darkness. She couldn’t help but think about how easy it could have been to fall victim to the phishing scam. In the digital age, the lines between reality and deception were becoming so blurry. But tonight, thanks to a moment of vigilance, she had dodged a bullet. 

As she pulled into her driveway, Emma made a mental note to be more cautious in the future. The world of cybercrime was filled with unseen threats, and it was up to individuals like her to remain vigilant. She stepped inside her home, locking the door behind her, and felt a sense of security and relief. 

That night, Emma slept soundly, her dreams untroubled by the specter of cyber threats. She had faced the phishing phantom and emerged unscathed, a small victory in the ongoing battle against digital deception. 

If you’d like to avoid the phishing phantom, remember to follow these guidelines so spooky season is filled with treats, not tricks: 

• Never share your Clark password with anyone. ITS will never ask for your password. 

• Watching this 2 minute video on phishing warning signs 

• Use Lastpass, Clark University’s password manager, to securely store passwords and help make each password you use unique. Click here to learn more about LastPass. 

• Review your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) methods. Click here to learn more about MFA at Clark.  

• Report phishing messages.  When you do, in certain cases, ITS will remove the malicious mail from our systems, potentially saving someone else from clicking.  Click here for details on how to report phishing