Cyber Security Topic – Scams and Internet Fraud

If it looks too good to be true it probably is.  But internet scammers are becoming better at scamming.  Here are just a few that we’ve been aware of on campus where scammers have been better at scamming.

• Emails claiming to be from a former student or a colleague that was mugged and in the hospital in London.  They need you to quickly wire some cash to them.
• People calling about a bill that is past due for your department for toner cartridges and you need to provide your billing information – Thanks Chief Spice!
• Employment websites offering you to do little work or just cash a check for them and they’ll give you a cut of the money
• Emails claiming to be from the IRS or UPS and want you to confirm some information.
• Phone calls wanting you to provide information to be listed on Google (they hung up on me right after I said “I’m the Information Security...”  Click.)

Unfortunately these look and sound like they are real and people have lost thousands of dollars.  There are many more scams out there, but here are a few tips:

• Don’t visit websites by clicking on links within an email or social media site.  Facebook is the number one source of malware on the internet.  There are also many charity scams, and news scams out there.  “Click here to see…”
• Don’t reply to emails from companies that you are not familiar with.  Our spam filters are good at what they do, but sometimes spam does get in.
• Don’t cash any checks written by someone that you met online or have never met.
• Don’t provide personal/banking information to anyone as a result of an email.  I would actually go further than this.  Personally, if I am not expecting a call from a company that needs my personal information, I ask them if I can call them back and provide it to them.

Here are a few resources available to you if you are questioning the legitimacy of something:

• www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com – Current scams seen on the internet, FAQ/Tips
• www.IC3.gov – Internet Crime Complaint Center.  Alerts on current scams and internet crime prevention tips
• www.fakechecks.org – Campaign for the National Consumers League aimed at fraud prevention

Keeping Campus Safe - The Numbers

Incoming spam and malicious emails kept out of your inbox in the past 30 days: 5,180,452 which accounts for about 83% of all incoming email

Viruses and malware removed or quarantied automatically in the past month: 133 incidents

Software Update Notes

Microsoft August Updates - Please make sure you save your work before you head home tonight (9/13).  The updates may cause your computer to reboot
Adobe Flash and Reader – A major security patch will be released tonight (9/13) this affects both PC’s and Mac’s.  You may need to manually update your software.
Mozilla Firefox – Latest Version is 6.0.2 and 3.6.22 Please make sure you have the latest version
Google Chrome – Latest Version is 13.0.782.220 Please make sure you have the latest version

Exchange Email Migration

35 Departments have been successfully migrated to Exchange, an additional 6 departments will be completed in the next month.  Some of the benefits of migrating to Exchange include:

• Larger Mailbox size - your email account is almost doubled in size from webmail.  Exchange accounts are allocated 1.5 GB’s of storage space. 
• Mobile Device support – all iPhone’s, Android phone’s and Windows Phone 7 devices can sync all email, calendar appointments and contact information
• Improved Web Interface – Exchange comes with a new web interface called Outlook Web App, you can access all email, calendar and contact information from the new web interface.

For additional information on the Exchange project including “how to” training videos please visit www.uccs.edu/exchange