Threat Alert:  Leadership Imposters Texting Messages

• A series text messages are impersonating UCSF Senior Leadership. They generally start with a question such as, “Are you free? I need assistance right away.” If the recipient replies to the text message, the attacker attempts to talk the recipient into buying gift cards and may promise that the purchases will be promptly reimbursed. The attacker then asks the recipient to send pictures of the gift card codes in order to steal the funds.

Key Action: Report Suspicious Texts

• If you are generally not communicating with senior leadership via text message, please be suspicious of receiving communication in this manner.
• If you are unsure if the sender is who they say they are, offer to call them back on a known UCSF number (such as one listed in the directory) to verify their identity. If their number is not listed in the directory, reach out to someone else is their organization to see if the number is correct.
• Be skeptical of requests to purchase gift cards for business reasons, especially if the sender requests pictures of the gift card codes; this is usually a scam.
• Please report any text message you think could be impersonation to the IT Service Desk, and include a screenshot of the message with the phone number if possible.