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Wake Forest University

Protect your personal identity and account data (students)

Modified on: Tue, Jul 23, 2019 2:28 PM


Phishing (fraudulent messages appearing to come from legitimate sources) has become a popular way, using email and messages, to attempt to steal your personal information and gain access to your financial and computer accounts.

Information phishing sites may ask for:

  • Usernames and passwords
  • Social Security numbers
  • Bank account numbers
  • PINs (Personal Identification Numbers)
  • Credit card numbers
  • Your mother’s maiden name
  • Your birthday

If you receive a phishing email or message:

  • Do not open the email. Delete it immediately.
  • Do not click on any web links sent to you that are unsolicited or that might be suspicious.
  • Do not provide any information requested unless you are 100% sure the email or message is legitimate.
  • Do contact the Information Systems Service Desk at help@wfu.edu or 336-758-4357 (HELP) to report the phishing attempt.
Wake Forest University and the Information Systems Service Desk will never send unsolicited messages asking you to provide your password, account or other personal information.

Protecting your data

Remember the security and care of your data is your responsibility. Files and data can be lost in numerous ways such as viruses, accidental deletion, hardware failure, accidental liquid spills, or theft of the computer. We strongly suggest that you backup your data regularly to prevent the loss of data. Pick a method that best suits your needs! Visit the Backup and Restore page for more information.


Google 2-Step Verification

Setting up Google 2-Step Verification will help protect your personal identity, email, WIN, and other WFU accounts. This provides an extra step such as texting a 6 digit code to your phone every 30 days to validate your identity.


Learn more by reading our Security Essentials page.

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