At this time of year when many people are shopping online, we would like to remind the Temple community about online scams and phishing attacks. These attacks are on the increase and so it is important to safeguard your personal information.

Many scam attempts begin with an e-mail message that looks very professional and convincing. The e-mail messages may appear to come from legitimate agencies and businesses such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Amazon, PayPal, and major banking institutions. For example, the latest phishing scam is an e-mail message that appears to come from the IRS informing you of a tax refund. To process the refund, the e-mail asks that you supply personal information. The request is actually fraudulent and the IRS has set up a mailbox for notification and investigation of this scam at phishing@irs.gov.

To protect yourself against these fraudulent attempts, never respond to an e-mail request for personal information. If you receive such an e-mail request from a familiar company or service provider, do not click on the provided link. Instead, go directly to the company site and log in as you normally would to conduct business. This way, you avoid being misdirected to a “phishing” site that will capture your information and use it illegally.

If you have questions or concerns about the authenticity of an e-mail message, please call the Help Desk at 215-204-8000. Help Desk consultants can help you determine which actions to take to minimize the threat to your personal information and security. If you entered your credit card number at the fraudulent Web site, you should immediately contact your credit card company.

Press Reports on Spam Resurgence

Another e-mail related issue that has been in the news is spam. Over the past six months, the amount of spam coming through Temple’s e-mail system has increased dramatically. We have had many comments on the increased amount of spam hitting our inboxes.

As reported this week in the New York Times, this phenomenon is widespread, affecting organizations worldwide. The increase is the result of much more sophisticated spamming methods which constantly challenge the preventive measures of anti-spamming companies. Industry experts now estimate that 9 out of 10 e-mail messages are spam.

I want you to know that Computer Services has industry-leading spam filters on our e-mail systems to help prevent spam from reaching your inbox. The filters are constantly kept up to date, but they are not foolproof which is why some spam messages still get through our system. We will continue to do everything possible to keep these unwanted e-mail messages to a minimum.

For an insightful look at the spam phenomenon including a review of latest spamming methods (including the penny stock spam) and counter measures, I encourage you to read the December 6, 2006, New York Times article, "Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself" by Brad Stone. You can read the article online.

Safe Computing and Happy Holidays!