Phishing Warning for Gmail Users

Byuclafaculty

In the past, I have confined email fraud warnings to those specifically targeting UCLA email system users.  However, many faculty either have supplementary gmail accounts or forward their UCLA mail to a gmail account.  If you have gmail, you may get a message that looks like the image above and appears to come from someone you know with a gmail account.  It may refer to a service called Infoaxe or Flipora or something else.  Do not click on it or forward it to anyone else.  If you do click on it, it will steal all your email contacts and send them a message that seems to come from you.  The likely goal of such “phishing” sites is to put something on your computer you don’t want. Just delete the message.

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Another of our periodic email cautionary notes

Byuclafaculty

From time to time, we have provided reminders about email problems.  One problem – which we have noted – is that at a public university, your emails may be subject to public documents requests. Another problem is that hackers may try to get into your email account through “phishing,” probably to use it to send out scam messages to your contacts.  Such an event seems to have occurred at UC-Davis: Hackers compromised the email accounts of three UC Davis doctors last month, potentially gaining access to personal or medical information on as many as 1,800 patients, the university announced Monday… …

Receive a Dubious Email: Don’t Click! Delete!

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly received the email below today, ostensibly from UCLA.  Did you get it?  If so, you might have noticed that it doesn’t come from a UCLA address.  Best advice: Don’t click!  Instead, delete.=========================== important Notice For UCLA Faculty and staff of our email database(University of California, Los Angeles UCLA)We currently updated our UCLA email database.IT Help Desk requires all our faculty and staff (University of California, Los Angeles), to confirm their email account or sending and receiving emails will be difficult. For full access of your email account, follow the reference link bellow to confirm your email account.UCLA FACULTY AND STAFF…

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Password Hint

Byuclafaculty

From time to time, yours truly receives email messages – particularly from people with Yahoo or gmail accounts – that result from someone guessing their passwords.  The culprit then concocts a story about being stranded in Outer Slobovia and needing money.  If you get one of these messages, don’t send money and do let the account holder know his/her account has been hacked.  The moral is to have a password that is hard to guess. But then comes this word: Steven M. Bellovin, a computer science professor at Columbia, uncovered a startling fact. The launch code for all U.S. Minuteman…

Another don’t click reminder

Byuclafaculty

Don’t click! Another reminder that when you get emails – such as the one above – that seem to have some official connection to UCLA and invite you to click here, download here, etc., be very cautious.  The one above may just be harmless commercial spam but the best thing to do is to delete it.  It clearly is not from a UCLA source.  Clicking and downloading may infect your computer and cause damage to it.

Fraud Reminder: NEVER respond to distress emails asking for money

Byuclafaculty

From time to time, yours truly receives emails -seemingly from a friend or colleague – requesting money to get out of a distressful situation abroad.  Today was no exception: I really hope you get this fast. I could not inform anyone about our trip, because it was impromptu. we had to be in Philippines for Tour..The program was successful, but our journey has turned sour. we misplaced our wallet and cell phone on our way back to the hotel we lodge in after we went for sight seeing. The wallet contained all the valuables we had. Now, our passport is…

Email Virus: Don’t Pay the Ransom! (It will only make things worse.)

Byuclafaculty

Authorities locally and nationwide are cautioning Internet users of a new trend in computer viruses known as “ransomware,” which take control of victims’ computers and demand a ransom to restore the users’ data. They have different names, such as Reveton or Crypto Locker, and they attempt to extort money from victims by encrypting or blocking access to their data without their knowledge, then demanding a ransom in order to undo the damage, according to police and FBI officials… In August, the FBI issued a similar warning regarding a ransomware virus known as “Reveton,” which scams victims by purporting to be…