Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 2:33pm

A series of convincing scams is tricking UI e-mail users into providing their login or other personal information to data thieves, and the IT security office urges the campus to exercise caution.

The latest scams have used familiar terms like ITS and HawkID, and often appear to be official with the university name and logo. On average, 5 UI people are fooled into sharing their login with an identity thief every day.

Most recently, subject lines seen are “Your HawkID was compromised” or “Your UI NETID was compromised.”  The recipient is directed to a (Russian) website to “reconfirm your login details, ” allow a “monitoring alert system” to prevent further compromise, or to “block the suspicious IP.”   

These are NOT legitimate messages. You will NEVER be sent an e-mail asking you to confirm your login or to confirm sensitive personal information. Do NOT click on links in the messages, as these websites often silently install malicious software on your computer, in addition to gathering your personal information.   

Please be on alert, and take a moment to review these guidelines from the Information Security and Policy Office. If you have questions, contact the Security Office at it-security@uiowa.edu or 319-335-6332.