Increasing number of ‘phishing’ attack emails being replied to
What is happening?
There are currently a number of ‘phishing’ attack emails circulating. A phishing email is one that tries to get you to submit your login details either by replying to the email with them, or by going onto an online form to put this information into. These emails can include the phrases, ‘Click here to increase your mail quota’ or ‘your email account is going to close, login here or your account will close' or 'authenticate here to get access to....'. Beware that these emails are getting more sophisticated with an increasing number appearing to come from the University service desk.
The University will NEVER ask you to provide login or password details via email nor will we direct you to a site where you can put the information into.
What should you do?
When you receive an email like this please delete it from your Inbox.
The University, nor any genuine service, would never send such unsolicited emails to you, requesting that you provide user name and or password details. If in doubt, always contact the service directly (but not using any details or links contained within the suspect email).
If you have already responded to one of these emails and provided any personal information or password, please change your password immediately and contact the IT Service Desk.
Further Information
Please be on your guard for phishing emails. Phishing emails are designed to maliciously harvest personal details from you to either compromise your email account or gain access to other personal data, such as banking details or other online services you are registered for. We have in the past produced information on how to spot a phishing email and you can find out more by visiting this University website http://www.abdn.ac.uk/dit/staff/news/index_1750.php.