UD Home
IT Help Center
 

Phishing Alert

You will be targeted by this fast-spreading scam!

Don't get hooked - Watch the videos!


 
  • The FDIC has issued Consumer Alerts concerning recent exponential growth in a scam known as "phishing".
     
  • This "fishing for confidential information" is a scam that attempts to fraudulently use your personal or financial information obtained through e-mail or pop-up messages claiming to have been sent from: fish hook with email bait

    • Your bank,
    • Your credit card company,
    • A Government Agency (like the FDIC),
    • Microsoft,
    • Verizon,
    • E-bay,
    • PayPal,
    • Other institutions that already have your personal data.
       

  • A bogus e-mail or pop-up asks you to click a link to "verify" or "re-submit" personal information at the institution's web site, when, in fact, the link directs you to the scammer's look-alike copy of the web site.
     
  • Entering information at the fraudulent web site can result in theft from your account(s) and/or theft of your identity, e.g. criminals pretending to be you to obtain credit cards in your name.
     
  • Scammers have posted "phishing kits" on the Internet to spread the use of this fraudulent technique.
     

Don't let it be you....

don't click
  • NEVER click a link in an e-mail message asking for personal information, even if you are warned that you will be charged if you don't respond.
     
  • NEVER open any attachments in suspicious e-mail messages.
    Just delete them immediately.
     
  • Contact the institution by telephone to verify the legitimacy of a suspicious e-mail request for information. Reputable companies and institutions NEVER ask you to verify confidential information via e-mail.
     
  • Test your knowledge!  Take the short Phishing Basics Online Quiz from Microsoft.
     
  • For additional tips, see OnGuardOnline's "How Not to Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam".
     
  • State of Delaware Attorney General's Office IDentity Theft information, including steps to take if you are a victim of identity theft.
     
  • Additional Identity Theft Links
     

Computer Security at UD   News & Alerts   Reporting Incidents   Accessing UD Systems  
UD Security Tool Chest   UD Security Home