Inclement weather forecasts have prompted us to move the final Provost’s Drake Social indoors to the Shivers Hospitality Suite. The event will be Tuesday, May 7, from 4–6 p.m.

This final social will also be a time to honor this year’s retirees, as well as those celebrating milestone work anniversaries. We will be serving ice cream sundaes, lemonade, and iced tea.

Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office

Registration is now open for the annual All Staff Council Kickball Tournament scheduled for 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 eight teams of no more than 12 Drake faculty and/or staff members. Individuals interested in playing may also sign up as a free agent, and you 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. Fans are do not need to register. Questions? Contact ascspecialevents@drake.edu.

— Jill Batten, CPHS Director of Student Affairs, ASC Special Events Committee

It’s golf season! Do you want to get to know some fellow Drake University faculty/staff members? Sign up to participate in the 10 week golf league open to all faculty and staff.

For more information, contact Ryan Parriott at 271-3522 or ryan.parriott@drake.edu, or view the Golf League website.

— Ryan Parriott, Recreational Services

Please join us at a reception for Carlyn Marron, assistant director of international student and scholar services, who is departing Drake and “retiring” from her career in international education. Stop by Drake International on Friday, May 10, from 2-4 p.m. to thank Carlyn for her ten years of service and wish her well as she begins this new chapter.

Bonnie Ehler, International Programs and Services

The Provost’s Office will host an Ice Cream Social on the Ray Promenade Tuesday, May 7, from 4–6 p.m. During the social, Human Resources will honor employees who celebrated 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 years of service from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, and those who are retiring or have recently retired.

Seating will be limited, so you are welcome to bring your lawn chair. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held in the Shivers Hospitality Suite.

This will be a zero landfill event. Sodexo will provide all compostable table service. There will be ice cream sundaes, iced tea, and lemonade.

Drinda Williams, Academic Support Specialist

The Office of University Communications and Marketing has developed a new, easy to use tool to share news of your accomplishments. Accessible at drake.edu/accomplishments, you will now be able to write your own story and upload photos to share broadly with the help of the communications team. The form is designed to act like a minimalistic word processor, capable of adding links, bullet points, and other style choices. Additionally, you have the ability to upload photos, which we strongly suggest you do with each submission.

We found that the previously available form created a number of bottlenecks in our system, impacting this office’s ability to share your stories in a timely manner. When submitting the new form, you are actually creating a draft story on the back-end of our newsroom. Upon submitting that story, the communications team is automatically notified so that we can make any necessary changes to accommodate Drake’s style guide or other minor editorial changes prior to publication. This new process is designed to speed the process of sharing good news, and to help ensure accuracy of what is published online.

If you have any questions about the new process or run into any issues as we roll out this system, please reach out to Jarad Bernstein at jarad.bernstein@drake.edu.

Jarad Bernstein, Director of Communications

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