New Phishing Attack
08/10/2009
There has been a new phishing attack involving large numbers of MSU account holders. A fraudulent e-mail (shown below) was sent out on Sunday, August 9, 2009. A large volume of incidents were reported to the ATS Help Desk related to this phishing attack, including a relatively high percentage of users who responded to the e-mail.
Our general advice to the MSU community has been – do not reply to a phishing message, just DELETE it. MSU will not send e-mail requesting NetID, passwords, or any other personal information. In the event you or someone you know responded and provided the solicited information, it is important to act quickly to minimize any possible damage:
1. Immediately change the account password
2. Call the ATS Help Desk if you need further assistance
To learn more about phishing emails please read knowledge base article 4194.
http://techbase.msu.edu/article.asp?id=4194
We strongly recommend that you share this information with others in your department. Thank you for your cooperation.
ATS Help Desk
(517) 432-6200
_________________________________
FRAUDULENT E-MAIL
Dear MSU.EDU Account User,
We have noticed an unauthorized attempt to change your Michigan State
University’s Account password from a foreign IP. This was going to
result to your inability to access your account due to the password
change.
We are about to terminate your Michigan State University’s account for
security reason.
If you know you are the authorized owner of this account, kindly reply
by providing your original
USER NAME (*******)
PASSWORD (*******)
The provision of the above information will prove that you are the
owner of this account and we will protect your ID and password from
unauthorized access.
Failure to do this will violate Michigan State University?s email
terms & conditions.
From Michigan State University’s Admin and Web Support Team.
© 2009 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. East Lansing MI
48824 MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer.
“Warning:
The information contained in this email and any attached files is
confidential to Michigan State University. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this email or any
attachments is expressly prohibited. If you have received this email
in error, please notify us immediately. VIRUS: Every care has been
taken to ensure this email and its attachments are virus free,
however, any loss or damage incurred in using this email is not the
sender’s responsibility. It is your responsibility to ensure virus
checks are completed before installing any data sent in this email to
your computer.”
