Employee Impersonation

This guide explains how attackers impersonate academic leaders to trick users into sharing information, buying gift cards, or granting access to systems.

Audience

Faculty • Staff • Students • Adjuncts • Administrators

Summary

This guide explains how attackers impersonate academic leaders to trick users into sharing information, buying gift cards, or granting access to systems.

When You Should Use This Guide

• You receive unexpected messages from leadership

• You are asked to purchase gift cards or send money

• You receive urgent requests outside normal channels

• You suspect impersonation

Security Context

Higher‑ed institutions are frequently targeted with impersonation scams. Attackers pose as presidents, provosts, deans, department chairs, HR or IT staff in an attempt to exploit trust and authority.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Verify the Sender

• Check the email address carefully

• Domain must be bellevuecollege.edu

• Official messages will never come from Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail for college business

• Look for misspellings or unusual domains

2. Look for Red Flags

• Urgent requests

• Requests for secrecy

• Requests for gift cards or money

• Messages sent outside business hours

3. Confirm Through Official Channels

• Contact the leader’s office directly through a known official channel

• Use Teams or Outlook to verify identity

• Ask the person for information that you are certain they should know and it is not published anywhere

• Do not reply to suspicious messages

4. Report Immediately

• Use Outlook’s Report Phishing feature if you are suspicious of the email

• Contact IT Security

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Trusting messages because they use official titles

• Responding quickly due to urgency

• Assuming leadership communicates via personal email

Examples 

• “President needs urgent help purchasing gift cards”

• “Dean requests confidential student information”

• “Chair asks you to click a link to review a document, but the link is not a BC link”

Troubleshooting

• Unsure if message is real: Contact the leader’s office

• Repeated impersonation attempts: Report each one

• Clicked link: Follow compromised account steps

How to Request Assistance

 Submit a Ticket

You can submit a ticket anytime through our Service Catalog

 425-564-HELP (4357)

We are available by phone during standard service hours

 Email 

Send an email to servicedesk@bellevuecollege.edu anytime and we will get back to you

 B 233

Come by the Service Desk in the B building on Main Campus, room 233, for in-person assistance