coe-staff: Current Phishing attack aimed at COE users (11/07/17)

[Jeff Woodbury]

All,

COE users are currently receiving emails (11/07/17) with the subject line “FW: AdminWarnings". These messages are phishing attempts that contain malicious links designed to steal user information. Please be extra vigilant when receiving emails with links to external websites or that contain file attachments.

If your “uoregon.edu” account has been affected by malware or phishing attempts, please contact coeit at uoregon.edu, you can also copy: security at uoregon.edu.

Here are a few quick tips to help recognize phishing emails:

-- Check the name and email address of the sender: Often the identity thief uses an email that has nothing to do with the UO units or groups that oversee account management or service management. Please note that some targeted phishing attempts, called “spear phishing,” are directed at specific individuals or companies. Attackers often gather personal or organizational information about their target(s) to increase their probability of success. This technique is, by far, the most successful on the internet today.
-- Look for overly generic content: You may see email subjects such as “ITS Service Desk” or “Your account has been disabled.” Phishing  emails often come from a group or a user that you cannot track down.
-- Look for misspellings or lapses in good grammar or logic: Identity theft attempts often overlook proper spelling and grammar. Often there is something that just does not seem right.
-- There is usually a threat of losing access: Phishing emails often mention that your account is in danger of losing access or has lost access. This is to coerce the user into clicking on a contained link or attachment.
-- Check any links for their true web address: In most email clients you can move your pointer over the text of a link for a second and the program will reveal the full URL path of the link. By doing this you can tell if the text of the link is the same as the web address it is sending you to. In many cases the URL will be a unrecognizable web address that has no relation to the UO.

Jeffrey Woodbury
Director of Technology, College of Education
University of Oregon
mailto:Jeffreyw at uoregon.edu
http://coehelp.uoregon.edu/