On Tuesday, March 20, all University of Tampa accounts received a global message in regards to a phishing scam that is hacking the school email system.
It sent a reminder to not reply to the messages and alerted individuals of a scam that has been taking place. The scams are asking students to send their usernames and passwords through email, which the Office of Information Technology claims “will never ask you to send your username and password in an email,” stated in the scam alert.
Phishing scams are one of the fastest growing Internet crimes that are used to steal personal information from a vast number of people. The thieves that hold the responsibility may use the information given to them to open credit lines, to get loans, to use your name if they are arrested, to sell to other thieves that want your information and many other illegal activities.
The term “phishing- as in fishing for confidential information- refers to a scam that encompasses fraudulently obtaining and using an individual’s personal or financial information,” stated on an online website that was created to warn individuals of this type of fraud.
These scams are so effective because they are a form of social engineering, something that takes advantage of the relationship between humans and technology.
The people participating in this illegal activity tend to target university students, staff and faculty through email. “Some people might wonder why phishers would be attracted to .edu email addresses.
For one, they are a valuable spamming resource, because .edu domains are generally white-listed by anti-spam filters,” stated an online article on http://www.fdic.gov regarding the relationship between phishers and universities in 2011.
The Office of Information Technology at the University of Tampa continues to urge students not to respond to the emails that ask for information, but there are a few students who continue to send their passwords.
Steve Magriby, the Director of Instructional Technology said that, “If no one ever responds, then sooner or later it will stop.”
So it is important for students to become aware of these scams and the consequences that come with it.
Kirby Jay can be reached at kirby.jay@spartans.ut.edu.