Students are being warned to watch their e-mail accounts for phishing after a scam was uncovered earlier this week.
The UNC Information Security Office advised students, faculty and staff to be wary of an e-mail that asks for personal information.
The e-mail claims that their UNC online profile is locked, and requests they follow a link and log in using their ONYEN and password.
The link actually leads to a phishing Web site that looks similar to the UNC Webmail log-in page, from which hackers gained access to the user’s name and password.
Information security manager Judd Knott said ITS became aware of the scam after discussions on the technical listserv about the scam.
“We started seeing a bunch of spam start to come from the individuals’ e-mail, and that’s what tips us off that their account has been compromised,” Knott said. “At that point we contacted the individuals.”
The number of e-mail accounts compromised is unknown.
Prevention may be difficult because these scams are hard to spot, but Knott warns students to always be careful on the Internet.
“It used to be pretty obvious forgeries or fakes, but they’ve gotten sophisticated,” Knott said.
Never click on suspicious links.
“We want to raise consciousness and awareness that these scams are out there and no legitimate organization will ask for your credentials in an e-mail,” Knott said.
In order to prevent your account from being hacked, make sure to have a strong password, and change it frequently.
If you think your account has already been hacked, change your password immediately to prevent further damage.
If spam messages are being sent from your account, it is likely that you have been hacked. Pop-up ads are also a sign.
Students who discover viruses on their computer can take them to ITS to be repaired.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
