Information Security Training

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E-Mail Hoaxes and Scams

Have you heard the story about a major manufacturer that is giving away $100 to anyone that will forward their announcement e-mail to everyone in their address book? How about the software company that has a free screen saver with fish on it that crashes your system when you install it? If you did, do not believe them. There are hoaxes and scams.

Many hoaxes come in the form of an email warning about a virus or worm that could delete your hard drive or something similar. The message will also tell you to contact everyone in your e-mail address book to warn them. This causes a strain on the e-mail system and disrupts people’s productivity. These types of hoaxes are so common that major anti-virus manufacturers (such as McAfee and Symantec) have created web sites that track and report on the latest hoaxes.

One of the most prevalent e-mail scams being spread today is one that states “You can be a millionaire” by forwarding an e-mail to others and be paid a certain amount of money for each e-mail sent. There are millions of people that fall prey to this kind of scam. Authors of these hoax and e-mail scams are often seeking notoriety by getting their e-mail sent to as many people as possible. Also, do not let them tell you they are tracking how many people it is forwarded to, it’s a scam. E-mail cannot be tracked in this manner.

It’s easy to spot a hoax or scam by the inclusion of an attachment. Just as trustworthy sites will not ask for personal information in an e-mail, trustworthy people or companies will not send you an attachment with instructions to “remove an infected file from a computer.” Never open an attachment from someone you don’t know or an unexpected attachment from someone that you do. It’s best to delete it.

Another scam involves a person claiming to need help with obtaining an inheritance but needs a local back account. They claim that if you provide your account information they will split the inheritance with you. The individual is trying to gain access to your private information and possible steal money from your account. The best defense is to delete these kinds of messages.

Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The best defense is education and being aware that these scams and hoaxes exist. If you are suspicious of something you read in an e-mail, contact the University Information Security Officer at infosec@towson.edu. Also there are numerous web sites with detailed information about e-mail hoaxes and scams. Education is the biggest key to successfully eliminating this Internet pest.

Here are seven telltale signs of a scam (courtesy of Microsoft):

• You don’t know the person who has sent you the message
• You are promised untold sums of money for little or no effort on your part
• You are asked to provide money up front for questionable activities, a processing fee, or to pay the cost of expediting the process.
• You are asked to provide your bank account number or other personal financial information, even if the sender offers to deposit money into it.
• The request contains a sense of urgency.
• The sender repeatedly requests confidentiality.
• The sender offers to send you photocopies of government certificates, banking information, or other "evidence" that their activity is legitimate (these are fake).

What more?

• Department of Energy Hoax Busters
• Example of E-Mail Hoaxes
• Trend Micro Information on Scams and Hoaxes
• Microsoft MSN Top 9 E-Mail Hoaxes
• Sophos Information on Scams and Hoaxes
• McAfee Virus Hoax Page
• Symantec Hoax Page
• FCC Information on Hoaxes and Scams

If you need further assistance, email infosec@towson.edu for help.
 

Information Security Office
Office of Technology Services
Cook Library, 4
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
E-mail: infosec@towson.edu