Every day we hear about scams people try to use on our students. Some come by phone and some by email. This is a just a reminder that no legitimate office or company will ever ask you for your social security number, login or password by phone or email. In addition, before filling out forms on the web with personal information, check, or credit card numbers, make sure that it is going to a legitimate address. You can do this in several ways: make sure the web address begins with https or login directly to the website using a web address you know is correct instead of following a link from an email. Also, if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is and you should exercise an even greater degree of caution.
A good example to keep in mind is our own NOVA Help Desk. If you need help with your password, you will contact the IT Help Desk by mail or phone so you know that you went to that specific location. After you contact them, they may ask you for a social security number as part of the verification process if they cannot verify your identify by any other means. They do this by phone and not by email. What makes this safe for you is that you initiated the contact and it did not come to you in an email or random phone call. As an extra measure of security, Students should periodically review their My NOVA account information to ensure that they have entered a unique Security Question and Answer that the ITHD can use to help verify their identify in lieu of a Social Security number. You can find links to do this on the My Tools page after you login.
- The Help Desk has assistance available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This service includes nights, weekends and holidays.
Toll Free: 855.259.1019
(Outside of Northern Virginia)
Local Telephone Number: 703.426.4141
Fax: 703.323.2319
Email: ithelpdesk@nvcc.edu