We have had reports of a new phishing attempt that is circulating on campus.

If you have received an email with the subject Critical Update: Microsoft Firewall And Security Center 0911 please do not respond to it and do not click on the link within the body of the email.

This is a phishing email and should be deleted immediately.  If you have already clicked on the link or responded to this email, please immediately.

How can you tell if an email is a phishing attempt?

  • the sender is not familiar to you
  • there is a call for immediate action – “download this now”
  • there are spelling or grammatical errors in the email – in this recent email, it reads: “This is an high-priority updates.”

How you can reduce Spam:

  • Do not open an email that looks like Spam.
    Just delete it.  Simply opening the message can send a read receipt message back to the spammer confirming that your e-mail account is active.
  • Do not reply to a Spam message.
    Spammers will regard this as a ‘hit’ and your e-mail account will be confirmed as active.
  • Do not make your e-mail address available on web pages.
    Use an alternate e-mail address when using Usenet newsgroups. Spammers use harvesting software that surfs the Internet to glean e-mail addresses from web sites and newsgroups. An alternate e-mail address will protect your ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ e-mail address and help reduce the amount of spam received at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´. Free e-mail services are readily available from many sources.
  • Guard your e-mail address carefully.
    Do not give your e-mail address to web sites unless you are sure what they are going to do with it. Read any terms of use and privacy statements. Many greeting card and joke-of-the-day websites gather e-mail addresses for spam use. Never subscribe your friends to a web site as you may be giving their address to a spammer.