Don't be "Phooled" by Phishing Scams

What is Phishing?

Whoever said, “Sharing is nice, ” wasn’t referring to your ECU passphrase. You’ve received them, those “almost-looks-real-but-not-quite” e-mails claiming to be from your bank, the IRS or the ECU Computer IT department.  The latest one is sent from a bogus “Microsoft Customer Support” department.

First, the message usually describes a digital disaster or time-sensitive emergency and then requests you update account information immediately.  The message usually continues with dire consequences unless you reply with your passphrase, account username or Social Security Number:  money will be lost, accounts will close or some other dire situation will result.  

Once you reply to this type of message, the perpetrators use your personal information to conduct fraud or to send SPAM from your e-mail account.

This is called “phishing.”  It is illegal, and it is a growing threat at ECU.

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Tips to Remember

While ITCS does a good job at catching most of these malicious messages before they are delivered, some do get through, so we count on our users to be aware of the following tips to avoid being a victim:

• NEVER reveal your passphrase to anyone.
  
• Legitimate businesses—including ECU, banks, the IRS—will NEVER request personal information through an e-mail message.
• If an e-mail asks for personal information, DELETE it.
• If you’re unsure about an e-mail, call the business using the phone number on the back of the bill, statement or credit card—not any phone number listed in the e-mail.
• E-mail alerts from ECU will always originate from ITCS Notifications and will be listed on the ITCS Help Desk home page.
  
• If you have provided account information, change your password immediately at http://pirateid.ecu.edu/.
• Never click the links in an e-mail.
• Use antivirus and antispyware software as well as a firewall and update them regularly. As an ECU employee or student, you may download Symantec SAV software for your home computer for free from ECU OneStop.
• Keep your operating system and other software up to date with the latest security patches and updates.

If you think you may have been a victim of phishing or if your e-mail suddenly doesn't work, call the ITCS Help Desk at 252.328.9866 or toll free 1.800.340.7081.

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Resources for More Information

National Consumers League
http://www.fraud.org/tips/internet/phishing.htm

Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.shtm

Webopedia, “How to Spot a Phishing Scam”
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2005/phishing.asp

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Frequently Asked Questions

Below are a few of the questions frequently submitted to the ITCS Help Desk.

1. What is MailMarshal? MailMarshal is an anti-spam product that blocks most spam e-mail before it reaches your Outlook inbox. MailMarshal only filters outside messages. If an e-mail fits the MailMarshal spam criteria, it is diverted to the MailMarshal quarantine area. A list of blocked e-mail is regularly forwarded to each user's inbox.
   
   
2. Why do I get so many e-mails from MailMarshal? ECU's e-mail servers receive multitudes of messages each day. Many e-mails are spam and blocked by MailMarshal. For example, the author's e-mail inbox received 1,930 e-mails in the month of June. MailMarshal allowed 475 of these to pass on to the inbox. However, 1,455, or roughly 75%, of the e-mails received for the author were quarantined by MailMarshal.
   
   
3. Can you stop sending the MailMarshal notices or at least send fewer of them to my inbox? It is a good thing to check this list periodically to make sure MailMarshal is not blocking legitimate e-mail from your inbox.
   
   
4. How can I stop an e-mail address from being blocked by MailMarshal? Log in to http://spammail.ecu.edu to enter the MailMarshal console. You will be able to add an e-mail address to the "white list" so that it is no longer blocked by MailMarshal.
   
   
5. How can I tell MailMarshal to block e-mails that are not currently being blocked? Just as you can add e-mail addresses to a white list, you can add e-mail addresses to a "black list" so that they are always blocked by MailMarshal. Log in to http://spammail.ecu.edu to enter the MailMarshal console.
   
   
6. When I look at my blocked mail list, why are there so many messages from my e-mail address? "Self-sending" spam is a form of "spoofing" where spammers forge the e-mail header (the TO and SENT information of an e-mail) to trick you into opening a message you think is from someone you know.
   
   
7. I see that MailMarshal is blocking a lot of spam mail. What can be done to stop that mail from being sent in the first place? Even though sending spam e-mail is illegal and new ways are found every day to block spam, corrupt career spammers continue to trick users into giving up private information. Phishing scams are just one avenue.
   
   
8. How long do I have to retrieve a blocked message before it is permanently deleted? Users have 10 days before a blocked e-mail is deleted from the MailMarshal quarantine area.
   

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