University: Watch out for bogus bank e-mails
By Ashley Simpson | December 3, 2004University inboxes have been cluttered recently with fraudulent e-mails claiming to be from banks and requesting from recipients personal identification information, such as bank account and credit card numbers. A warning was sent to students Wednesday in the weekly Connections e-mail, distributed by the Vice President for Student Affairs' Office. "Please be aware that banks and other financial institutions are highly unlikely to request sensitive information from you in an e-mail," the warning said. Shirley Payne, University director for security coordination and policy, said it is vital to improve online security awareness, as e-mails such as the bank hoaxes are becoming increasingly common. "The bottom line is, when you receive unsolicited e-mail that's requesting personal information, you should get really suspicious," Payne said. She advised students to use the same common sense in cyberspace as they would in the physical world. "If someone walks up to you, even if they're wearing a Wachovia shirt, and asks to verify your credit card number, you're not going to give it to them," Payne said. Whenever a student provides his or her e-mail address to a Web site, they are at risk for spam, said Chris Husser, technology coordinator for student activities. "When you enter your e-mail address in a Web site, companies collect e-mail addresses and send them to spammers," Husser said. Spammers also have other means of obtaining e-mail addresses.
