They’re called phishing emails, a tool used used by cybercriminals who aim to steal personal information off your computer.
University of Hawaii students are their latest targets.
Monday was new-student orientation day at UH Manoa but the campus layout wasn’t the only information being shared.
"With this sort of email getting out there I think the students are really at danger. I think something, something bad could happen," said concerned parent Tony De Sa.
On Sunday UH students received an email stating the university is removing access to all Webmail clients because it was upgrading to a new enhanced system. In order to be a part of the database students were asked for their email, password and date of birth. It was signed, sincerely Hawaii.edu Webmail Services.
"It has Hawaiiedu on it but if you look at the from line – it’s not a Hawaiiedu address," said UH spokesperson Gregg Takayama. "In this case the UH has not and would not ask for students personal information via email especially via an unsolicited email."
Freshman Aulii De Sa received the email but didn’t bite.
"Everything is just personal when it comes to email and password," she said.
"I’m just glad this came to the forefront and we can attack it before it really becomes a real problem at the university and a lot of students are affected by it," said Tony De Sa.
Many are now on alert.
"Always whenever I get something like that I make sure to check exactly what it is, look into it. Don’t just click and type in whatever they tell you to do because you never know if it could be a scam," said freshman Sheila Salehpour of San Diego. "They’re getting my email from the campus – which isn’t right."
Since 2009, there have been three security breaches within the university system involving more than 100,000 faculty, parents and students.
And just last Friday, Kapiolani Community College warned that more than 1,900 students may be at risk of ID theft after boxes of files containing credit card, social security numbers and personal information were discovered missing.
"I think the school needs to take necessary steps in order to prevent these type of scams going around because a lot of the students are not familiar with these things and the school needs to their part definitely," said Sheila’s mother, Sherry Izim.
"We’re kind of like giving our child to the university and hopefully that they’ll take care of them every which way even through internet safety," said Kanani De Sa.
The university is investigating the latest matter.
"That’s unfortunately happening all over the nation so as a student she really needs to be careful and pay attention who’s the sender," said Izim.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
