{"id":4446,"date":"2026-11-02T22:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T22:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/information-systems\/?p=4446"},"modified":"2026-11-02T22:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T22:36:14","slug":"your-dean-doesnt-need-gift-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/information-systems\/2026\/11\/02\/your-dean-doesnt-need-gift-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Dean Doesn\u2019t Need Gift Cards (and Other Holiday Scams to Skip)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Thanksgiving week brings unfinished work, shorter schedules, and an inbox full of holiday deals. Black Friday (Nov. 27) and Cyber Monday (Nov. 30) add to the noise. It&#8217;s a busy time of year, and scammers know it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The \u201cquick favor\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Here\u2019s a message we see every year, in many versions:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cHi, are you available? I\u2019m in back-to-back meetings and can\u2019t talk, but I need a quick favor. I want to surprise the team with gift cards for Thanksgiving. Can you pick up a few and send me photos of the codes? I\u2019ll reimburse you. Please keep it quiet for now!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Red flags to watch for<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Urgency and secrecy.<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> You&#8217;re being asked to act quickly and keep the request quiet.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Unfamiliar contact information.<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> The message comes from a personal email address or an unfamiliar phone number.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A request for gift-card codes.<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Someone wants photos of the numbers or codes on the cards.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The message may appear to come from your chair, dean, or a VP. The name is familiar, the request sounds plausible, and you want to help. That&#8217;s exactly what makes this scam effective.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What makes the request convincing<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You don&#8217;t have to be careless to fall for this. The scam takes a normal instinct\u2014helping a colleague\u2014and uses urgency to discourage you from checking first.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A few things are worth remembering:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gift cards are like cash. <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Once you share the codes, the money is usually gone and may be difficult or impossible to recover.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The details may look real because they often are. <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Names, titles, and reporting lines are easy to find on public department pages and professional profiles.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Good grammar isn&#8217;t proof. <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A polished message can still be a scam. Spelling mistakes and awkward wording aren&#8217;t reliable tests of authenticity, either.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Cybersecurity isn&#8217;t about expecting everyone to recognize every scam. It&#8217;s about developing the habit of checking when something doesn&#8217;t feel right\u2014and making it easy to ask for help.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Verify before you buy<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Remember one rule: <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">if it&#8217;s urgent, it&#8217;s worth a call.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Check with the person another way.<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Call them, message them on Teams, or walk down the hall. Use contact information you already have, not the number or address in the suspicious message.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Treat gift-card requests as a reason to stop and verify.<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> An email or text asking you to buy gift cards is not a reason to head to the store. Confirm the request independently before spending any money or sharing any codes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Report it, even if you&#8217;ve already acted.<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Use the Report Phishing button in Outlook, or forward the message to <\/span><a href=\"mailto:abuse@chapman.edu\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">abuse@chapman.edu<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. If you&#8217;ve already bought cards or shared the codes, contact Information Security immediately at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:infosec@chapman.edu\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">infosec@chapman.edu<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. Don&#8217;t wait because you&#8217;re embarrassed or unsure. Reporting quickly gives us a better chance to help.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The same rules apply to holiday shopping<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The same tactics show up in holiday shopping, at work, and at home. The details may change, but the habit that protects you is the same: pause, verify, and then act.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Here are three ways to put that into practice:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Don&#8217;t tap \u201cmissed delivery\u201d links. <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Fake shipping texts and emails are common holiday lures. If you&#8217;re expecting a package, open the carrier&#8217;s app or type its website address yourself.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Go directly to the retailer&#8217;s website. <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A convincing ad isn&#8217;t proof that a seller is legitimate. Rather than relying on a link in an email or message, find the retailer yourself.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Keep work and personal accounts separate. <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Avoid using your Chapman email for personal shopping accounts, deal alerts, or loyalty programs. It helps keep your work inbox cleaner and limits where your institutional email address is used.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We&#8217;re here to help<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If something looks suspicious, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chapman.edu\/campus-services\/information-systems\/security\/contact-us.aspx\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">ask us before you act<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. You don&#8217;t need to prove that a message is malicious before reporting it, and you don&#8217;t need to be embarrassed if you clicked a link or responded. The sooner we know, the sooner we can help.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Security works best when we make time to verify, look out for one another, and speak up when something seems wrong. A few seconds spent checking a request can prevent a financial loss and help keep Chapman running smoothly.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Happy Thanksgiving!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Keith Barros<br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Chief Information Security Officer<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Chapman University<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Stay safe, stay vigilant<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thanksgiving week brings unfinished work, shorter schedules, and an inbox full of holiday deals. Black Friday (Nov. 27) and Cyber [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3283,"featured_media":4304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"custom_author_name":"Keith Barros","chapman_pin_hero_slider":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,246],"tags":[34,36,2],"class_list":["post-4446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-information-security","category-online-safety","tag-cybersecurity","tag-infosec","tag-security"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Information Systems &amp; Technology | Chapman Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/information-systems\/2026\/11\/02\/your-dean-doesnt-need-gift-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Your Dean Doesn\u2019t Need Gift Cards (and Other Holiday Scams to Skip) - Information Systems &amp; Technology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thanksgiving week brings unfinished work, shorter schedules, and an inbox full of holiday deals. 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