Neither PSU nor any other reputable organization will EVER ask you for your personal information or password by email.
If you receive an email asking for your personal information please delete it.
At Plymouth State University, our first priority is to maintain the security of all of our users’ accounts. If we detect that your account has been phished, we will immediately lock your account to protect your personal information and maintain network security.
If we lock your account, we will make every effort to contact you (via external email address or cell phone), if you’ve given the University that information. If you have trouble logging in to your account or you suspect you may have been the victim of phishing, please call the Help Desk at (603) 535-2929 and we will work with you to get you back online. We appreciate your support and awareness of these attempts.
Example of Phishing
Reporting Phishing Attempts
- Please report phishing to abuse@plymouth.edu
- Please include full headers:
myMail- Right click the message, click “Show Original” and copy and paste into a new message.
Outlook 2007- Select the message, Control-Alt-F or Actions->Forward as Attachment.
-Thunderbird-Select the message, Message->Forward As-> Attachment
Impact of Phishing on PSU
1. Causes PSU to be blacklisted by other services.
- Real world examples: Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cisco.
- Impedes email communication from different PSU departments,i.e. Bursar & Registrar.
2. Consumes support services
- Many calls & emails to the Help Desk
- Systems must identify and lock phished accounts, clean out queued messages, and work around blacklisting.
3. A Phisher has access to almost all the same systems and information as the user.
Phishing on Facebook
- Facebook is also a very popular place for phishing.
- When installing Facebook applications be aware of a page that looks like this one below.
- The website facecrooks.com has some tips on avoiding being phished and possible identity theft.
- This link listes some great ways to prevent phishing.
- http://www.facecrooks.com/safety-center?layout=item
More Information about Phishing
- Securitycartoon.com:
http://www.securtiycartoon.com/
- Anti-Phishing Working Group:
- Carnegie Mellon CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory
- Wikipedia (Phishing):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
If you have questions or if you would like more information about phishing please contact the ITS Help Desk:
Phone Support: (603) 535-2929
Email: helpdesk@plymouth.edu
Live Support (see link to the right)
In person: Information Desk at Lamson Library and Learning Commons
Submit a Support Ticket or Check the Status of an Existing Request (requires authentication with your myPlymouth username and password)
