ITS News |
| Email Account Theft |
| . To the Campus Community, Just a warning. From Oct 1st thru Oct 9th a massive world-wide phishing attack has successfully compromised: 10,000+ Hotmail accounts, 30,000+ Yahoo and Gmail accounts. The user IDs and passwords for these accounts were then posted on public websites for hackers to use at will. For more information Click Here. As a result, we’ve had reports of a number of faculty getting emails from off campus asking for money from email addresses they know. ("Help!!!, I’m stuck in another country and need $2,800 to get home.") In all cases, changing your password every 90 to 120 days (which is SVSU policy) is the simplest way to protect yourself. This applies to any email account, not just your SVSU account. For more information and an interesting case study on phishing for credit card information (the same techniques are used to obtain email passwords): Click Here. We’ve also had our first (this school year) SVSU email account hijacked to send spam (asking for help moving money into the US from mainland China). At this point, we are not certain if this account was hacked via phishing or malware. Things you need to do on your computer: 1) Keep your anti-virus up to date 2) Regularly scan your computer for malware - free downloads can be found at: Click Here. 3) If you ever get an authoritative email demanding you must confirm/verify your email account or it will be shut down, contact the Support Center at Faculty, Staff, Students: 964-4225, ResNet: ext 7225, or (toll free) 866-827-4357. You should be particularly suspicious if the email contains a link that is not an SVSU address. If you have any questions contact the Support Center. Our phone numbers are: 964-4225, or (toll free) 866-827-4357 If you live on campus, please call ext. 7225. . . |
| Contact: Ken Schindler | schindle (at) svsu.edu |