Urgent Notification Regarding Payroll Fraud

August 23, 2024

Instances of payroll fraud continue to escalate across the USG. Through a combination of phishing and MFA fatigue attacks, criminals have been increasingly successful at misdirecting employee payroll to fraudulent accounts, resulting in loss of pay for the impacted employees. The points below are critically important reminders to help ensure that you are not affected: 

• NEVER approve a Duo authentication attempt that isn’t initiated by you. If you receive repeated prompts that you did not initiate, report them immediately to IT Security (912-478-2287 or security@georgiasouthern.edu). 
•  NEVER click on links asking you to validate your credentials. Georgia Southern will never ask you to do this. If you receive a message asking you to do this, report it to IT Security. 
• The phone call authentication method that is currently an option through Duo is one of the least secure methods of authentication and is a tool that is commonly used in MFA fatigue attacks. Over the coming weeks, IT Services will take steps to help employees using this method to transition to more secure authentication methods in order to help protect your payroll and other sensitive information. 
• Remember that if your pay is misdirected to a fraudulent account through your own actions, including approving an MFA prompt you did not initiate, you cannot be paid a second time. 

If you missed previous notifications regarding this unfortunate trend, you can read the previous payroll fraud alert here. Please be vigilant with your information and take steps to protect your sensitive data and financial information. Thank you for doing your part to help keep Our House safe and secure.