Beware Of Password Phishing E-mail Messages

 
You should NEVER send passwords via e-mail. The university's information technology staff will NEVER need or ask you to send your password, or ask you to go to a website to verify your account.

The Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) has received reports of e-mail messages sent to University of Maryland account holders with subject lines such as "The university I.T.S update‏‏‏," "umaryland ACCOUNT User," and "IT Service Notification / Account User Quarantine Exercise." The messages seemingly come from "system support" staff. The messages warn of a variety of account problems:

• Compromised accounts are being restricted
• Account deletion is being conducted in preparation for a system upgrade
• Unused accounts are being deleted
• Mailbox storage limit has been reached
• Accounts are being migrated to a new system
• A maintenance process to fight spam is being conducted

These e-mails, themselves a type of spam, request that you visit a link to verify your account or reply  to the message with your directory ID, password, as well as full name and contact information.

DO NOT DO THIS!

These e-mails are an attempt (called "phishing") by someone to gain access to personal information which they should not have. The "From:" address is forged (or "spoofed"), and may or may not be an actual e-mail address, but is not where the e-mail actually originated. Targeted versions of phishing have been termed "spear phishing".

What To Do If You Receive a Phishing Message

First, do not respond to the phishing message for any reason, including trying to scold or taunt the sender.

Second, send the message to spam@umaryland.edu  as an attachment.  With the entire phishing email in its original format, the administrators can get the information needed to adjust the IronPort filters to block future phishing messages from this sender. 

Click here for instructions on how to send a message as an attachment.

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What To Do If You Have Responded to a Phishing Message

If you responded to a phishing message with your password, please notify the IT Help Desk and change your password immediately.

If you still have a copy of the original phishing message, send the message to spam@umaryland.edu  as an attachment.  With the entire phishing email in its original format, the administrators can get the information needed to adjust the IronPort filters to block future phishing messages from this sender. 

Click here for instructions on how to send a message as an attachment.

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More Information About Email Phishing Scams

Here are some web sites that have further information on e-mail phishing scams:

• Microsoft article on "How to recognize phishing e-mails or links"
• How Stuff Works article on "How Phishing Works"
• US government's OnGuard Online website  
• Snopes.com - Urban Legends web site   

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Examples of Phishing Messages

Click here for examples of recent phishing emails. 

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