Criminals continue to develop creative ways to fool us. A new type of scam has been gaining popularity recently—personalized scams. Thieves find or purchase identifying information, then use it to craft a customized attack.  

How do personalized scams work?
Traditional scam emails or phone calls are typically generic. Think of the infamous Nigerian Prince or “You Won the Lottery” examples. Personalized scams are different. The criminals start by doing research and crafting a tailored message for each intended victim. They find or purchase names, passwords, phone numbers, or other details. This information is found on hacked websites, social media sites or in public government records. 

A common attack is to track down your email address, name, and an old password that you used on a hacked website. The criminal claims to have evidence about embarrassing or criminal activity and references your password(s) as proof that they’ve hacked your accounts. If you don’t pay them, they threaten to share the information with your family and/or law enforcement. 

Despite this threat, your computer is very rarely at risk. The scammer is simply using a few details in order to scare you into believing they have a record of all your online activity. 

What should I do if I’m targeted?
Recognize that emails and calls like these are scams. Feeling scared when someone has personal information about you is natural, but remember the sender is almost always lying.  

Here are some clues to look for: 

• Be suspicious of highly urgent emails and phone calls. Scammers use fear and urgency to play to our emotions and it’s a tactic designed to rush us into making mistakes. 
• Requests for payment in Bitcoin, gift cards, or other untraceable methods are nearly always fraudulent. 

Ultimately, though, common sense is your best defense to defeat these intrusive attacks.  

ITS will continue phishing education in May using emails that mimic real attacks. If you receive an email that you suspect is phishing, don’t click any links, download any attachments, or reply.  

For more information on reporting phishing emails, see the IT Service Portal guide, Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to). 

Peter Lundstedt, ITS 

Each month a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate innovative technology into their classroom. April’s digital faculty member of the month is Kelley Ellis, assistant professor of practice, school of Accounting, College of Business and Public Administration. Read an interview with Kelley below:

Which course(s) do you use this technology in? I would like to share a variety of technology tools that I use in my courses. I am continually looking for ways to make my life easier, make my courses easier to navigate, and make the content more interactive for the students. I probably use the most technology in my Accounting Systems course.

What type of technology do you use?

1. I have set up this course in Blackboard using Modules and Module Pages so that I could create “pages of content” that included my written context comments, documents, and videos.
2. I use Panopto recordings to tape lecture content for the students. I have also embedded quiz questions into the Panopto lecture to test the student’s understanding of the content and to ensure the students actually viewed the lecture. The quiz scores from Panopto are automatically transferred into Blackboard.
3. I have used Blackboard Collaborate on a limited basis to video chat with students and be able to share computer screens to talk through technology issues and project questions with students. This particular tool in Blackboard has a lot of potential, especially for online courses
4. I use test pools that I download from the textbook publishers to create quizzes for students that generate unique quizzes for each student.
5. I use grading schemes so that Blackboard grades can be electronically transferred into MyDUSIS. I also use grading color codes so that I quickly and visually see how students are doing on each assignment, project, quiz, and exam.
6. I also integrate the textbook assignment software into Blackboard so that the students can access everything that they need from one source—Blackboard. The grades for the homework assignments from the textbook software system are then automatically recorded into Blackboard.
7. The other major technology that I will use next year is Citrix. The students have traditionally had to buy and install QuickBooks general ledger software onto their laptop computers. The IT department worked with QuickBooks to get the software and allow the students to access the software for class via the Citrix server so that they no longer have to install the software on their personal computers.

How does this type of technology align with your teaching pedagogy? I think demonstrating the use of lots of different technologies within the course is good for the students to see for this system course. In their professional careers after graduation, they will have to learn many new software packages and tools. This course gets them used to learning new technologies—and me too.

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change?
Some changes were required out of necessity, others were based on attending training sessions at Drake by ITS or webinars offered by Blackboard.

How long did it take for you to implement this technology?
None of the technologies that I have implemented took very long to master. I have just added new things each year and tried to continually improve the course.

Did Drake ITS assist you in implementing this technology?
I have set up consultation meetings with ITS to talk about objectives I wanted to accomplish. ITS gave me options to choose from and pointed me toward resources to help me learn the skills needed. Once I started implementing a new technology, I developed very specific questions, and ITS was always very responsive in answering my queries.

Are you interested in trying out new technology in your classroom? Want help from ITS? Schedule a technology adoption consultation.

Jon Hurdelbrink, CPHS, and Carla Herling, ITS

From April 23 through May 6 the campus bookstore’s online site shop.drake.edu will have a 15% discount off all gifts and accessories.  Perfect timing for graduation, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. Visit shop.drake.edu.

Caron Findlay, Finance & Administration

The Des Moines Corporate Games is an eight-week company based competition (June 1–July 31) that promotes teamwork and company pride. Events range from team-based to individual and competitive to recreational. Whether you are a trivia buff or a triathlete, there is an event for you. 

All activities are held in the evening and on weekends, and are free (except for golf cart rental). You may participate in one or more events and they are open to all full-time and regular part-time employees, interns, and retirees. Drake is competing against other local companies for a chance to win individual and team medals as well as the Corporate Games trophy, so we need as many people as possible to be a part of these games and show our Drake pride. 

For registration information, email linda.feiden@drake.edu.

Events: Bags, 3-on-3 Basketball, Basketball Shooting, Blood Donation, Bowling, Burst Your Thirst Online Challenge, 4K & 8K Cross Country Race, Cycling Tour Ride, Disc Golf, Dodgeball, Duathlon, Fitness Walk (Ames & Des Moines options), 4-Person Best Shot Golf, Meals from the Heartland, 5K & 10K Road Race, Sand Volleyball, Spikeball, Track & Field Competition (held on the Drake Blue Oval), Triathlon, Trivia Challenge, Tug of War, Ultimate Frisbee, Yoga, and Zumba (Ames & Des Moines options).

Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Registration is now open for the annual All Staff Council Kickball Tournament scheduled to take place Wednesday, May 22, from 1:30–4 p.m. in Helmick Commons. Sign up as a team, free agent, or referee.

All Staff Council will accept registrations for up to 8 teams of no more than 12 faculty and/or staff members. Individuals interested in playing may also sign up as a free agent, and will be assigned to a team. Registrations are due by Friday, May 17, at noon. Fans are also welcomed and encouraged to cheer on their colleagues and enjoy some snacks. No fan registration is required. For questions, contact ascspecialevents@drake.edu.

Jill Batten, on behalf of All Staff Council Special Events Committee

Faculty and staff will have the opportunity to see schematics of the planned University Avenue streetscapes at the Provost’s Drake Social Tuesday, April 9, from 4–6 p.m. in Shivers Hospitality Suite. Streetscape developers and Michelle Huggins, Drake University planning and design manager, will be on hand to answer questions about the changes coming to University Avenue. 

In addition, there will be hard hat tours of the Burt Boys and Girls Club just across from Shivers. Construction is nearly complete and this is an opportunity for an early peek inside.

Drinda Williams, Academic Support Specialist

Registration is now open for the Global Greens Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The vegetables in the shares are all grown using organic practices by former refugees who are establishing small vegetable farming businesses in the Des Moines area and can be picked up just across the street at Lutheran Services in Iowa (3200 University Avenue) on Tuesday afternoons. Be a part of helping Des Moines’ newest residents expand their businesses, support a healthy local food system and eat great vegetables all at the same time! A weekly share of vegetables costs $504, or $28 per week for 18 weeks. Sign up today at www.lsiowa.org/csa.

— Ryan Arnold, Director, Community Engagement