CSUN Information Technology Personnel Caution Pupils about Fraudulent E-mails

The IT Department of CSUN has spread an alert amongst its students for being watchful of one fresh fraudulent e-mail, which's presently hitting their inboxes whilst posing as a communication from the department, thus published Daily Sundial dated February 29, 2012.

Bearing one caption "IMPORTANT NOTICE," the scam electronic mail tells the recipient (student) that numerous reports have recently come about his e-mail account sending spam mails. Consequently, he may fail in dispatching or getting fresh messages. Nonetheless, the user himself mightn't be blamed since his account may've gotten hijacked. Thus, for preventing his account from dispatching the junk, he must substantiate that he alone owns the account by filling out an online form provided in a web-link within the e-mail, the message states.

The message then warns that failure in complying with the instructions will mean breaching the 'terms and conditions' of the CSUN Web-mail that can result in the deactivation of the user's account.

Commenting on the e-mail, Information Security Officer Chris Olsen at the IT Dept. of CSUN stated that although it seemed formal and vital, while carrying the University's logo, however, on perusing carefully, it showed grammatical and spelling mistakes as well as more indications, which questioned its authenticity. Daily Sundial published this.

Olsen further stated that over the past 2-3 years, there'd been a greater prevalence of e-mail scams. Although there wasn't the exact number with the IT Department on the number of people answering the scam e-mails, still it could be surely said that a few students would answer them as also that a few were actually getting victimized.

The officer explained that universities and colleges were particularly preferable targets for e-mail frauds as university e-mail ids were overall regarded as safe and which most organizations didn't block. Therefore, when cyber-criminals compromised e-mail ids having the extension .edu, they were practically sure that the junk/spoofed e-mails they dispatched would hit their desired destinations.

Meanwhile, cyber-crooks attacking CSUN isn't unknown. During May 2008, one fake e-mail asserting as being from the networking-services of CSUN was distributed among 400-or-so e-mail accounts that belonged to faculty, students and staff, the department noted.

Related article: CSUN Students & Faculty Receive phishing E-Mail

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