ALL IT SECURITY ALERTS
November 2, 2009 Phishing Alert
WARNING! The "YOUR MAILBOX HAS BEEN DE-ACTIVATED" Email Phishing Scheme has hit the campus. This Phishing scheme warns victims that access to their mailbox has been limited. It requests the victims to send their user name, password and e-mail address in order to prevent de-activation of their mailbox. ITCS reminds the campus to avoid e-mail scams, hoaxes and Phishing schemes circulating on the Internet. ECU ITCS will NEVER ask you for your password. Scams purporting to be from ECU IT, ECU Helpdesk, the Web Master, Webmail, the IRS, Your Financial Institution, etc. are bombarding e-mail mailboxes. Although MailMarshall blocks the majority of such e-mails, some scams successfully reach your mailbox. NEVER provide personal or sensitive information in response to any unsolicited e-mail. Don't open unsolicited e-mail attachments. No matter how realistic or enticing the e-mail message, you must remain vigilant in not responding to an e-mail hoax or scam. Just delete it!
October 6, 2009 Alert
If you have e-mail accounts with Google, Microsoft or Yahoo, you are strongly advised to change your password immediately. Passwords for Google, Yahoo and Hotmail accounts were illegally leaked online. Documents seen by CNET UK suggest thousands of usernames and passwords for Hotmail, Google and Yahoo accounts have been illegally posted to the Internet. Login credentials for accounts ending with yahoo.com, hotmail.com, gmail.com, msn.com, live.com and hotmail.fr were seen. Users of these services are strongly encouraged to immediately change their passwords. Usernames and passwords for Google's Gmail service could also provide hackers with access to users' YouTube, Blogger, Google Docs and Google Talk accounts, as these services are all owned by Google and often work under a single login ID.
September 14, 2009 Scam Alert
ITCS Security is alerting the campus to a Text Message Phishing scam reported on campus. The scammer texts your cell phone and informs you that your credit or debit card account has been blocked. You are instructed to call a telephone number to resolve the problem. When you call, you are asked to provide your card number, expiration date and PIN number. Once the information is provided, the card is used for purchases and the telephone number no longer works! Please DO NOT respond to requests for your account information. Never provide information to anyone with whom you did not initiate the call. A scammer can wipe out your accounts in matters of minutes! If you have provided personal or sensitive information in response to a Text Message Phishing Scam, contact your financial institution immediately to report the crime.
June 15, 2009 Spam Alert
Another e-mail spam has attacked ECU. Spammers used an ECU e-mail account to send spam to the Internet. Reminder: Never provide your user ID or passphrase to ANYONE. No one at ECU will ever request your user id or passphrase; therefore, there will never be a reason for you to provide this information to anyone via any medium. By doing so, you create security, reputational and monetary risks to the University and violate the University's Computer Use Policy which could result in disciplinary action.
June 1, 2009 Spam Alert
ECU was the target of an e-mail spam attack. Spammers used an ECU e-mail account, likely gaining a valid userid/password via a Phishing scheme, to send spam to the Internet. As a result, ECU has been blocked from sending e-mail to several major carriers such as Hotmail and Yahoo and various other entities. Although corrective measures have been taken, it will likely take at least 2-3 days before the issue with those carriers is rectified. Reminder: ITCS reminds the campus to avoid e-mail scams, hoaxes and Phishing schemes circulating on the Internet. Although MailMarshall blocks the majority of such e-mails, some scams successfully reach your e-mail mailbox.
Email Scam Alert: Account Upgrade/Maintenance
The "Account Upgrade/Maintenance All East Carolina University Webmail Accounts" is yet another e-mail SCAM circulating across campus. Please DO NOT respond to this e-mail that requests you to provide ECU account information. The scam e-mail appears to be from East Carolina University but it is not. ITCS reminds you to be alert for e-mail scams, hoaxes and phishing schemes. This phishing scheme requests users to send their e-mail and password in a reply e-mail.
Remember:
-ITCS will NEVER ask you to send your password to them.
-NEVER provide account information, password and other personal identifying information in reply to an e-mail.
-Always verify the source of requests for personal information.
-Just Delete it!
ITCS reminds the campus to avoid email scams, hoaxes and phishing schemes circulating on the Internet. Scams purporting to be from ECU IT, ECU Helpdesk, the Web Master, the IRS, Your Financial Institution, etc. are bombarding e-mail mailboxes. Although MailMarshall blocks the majority of such e-mails, some scams successfully reach your e-mail box. If you have provided personal or sensitive information in response to an e-mail scam and don't know what to do, please contact ECU's IT Help Desk at 328-9866 or www.help.ecu.edu. Visit the IT Security website for examples of e-mail scams and additional information on avoiding them.
Phishing Scheme Alert: USAA
Recently, a phishing scheme related to USAA (United Services Automobile Association) has been circulating across campus; the USAA website has an official statement confirming that this is a scam. ITCS reminds users to be alert for email scams, hoaxes and phishing schemes. Do not forward any emails that you are not certain is true. Delete the email. Never open email attachments that you are not expecting. Please review the tips about avoiding being scammed under the Safe Practices category on the IT Security site http://www.ecu.edu/itsecurity.
Critical ITCS Security Warning: Conficker Worm
It is reported that on April 1, 2009, the Conficker worm is programmed for a widespread infection of vulnerable computers. For instructions on how to ensure your operating system has the most recent patches and security updates installed, please visit http://www.ecu.edu/itsecurity/conficker.
Security Recommendation: The Hazards of Selecting Remember My Password
As a savvy and safe web browser, you never want to select "Remember My Password". If you select this option, then whomever uses the computer after you can log in with your information. Some of the web browsers not only remember your password but even auto fill your login id. You can easily turn this feature off; for instructions, please visit http://www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/itsecurity/Web-Browsers.cfm.
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