Overview
- Secure a University Computer
- Secure a Student Personal Computer
- Secure a Home Personal Computer
- Security Tools & Downloads
- Digital Copyright
- Safe Computing Topics
University of Minnesota e-mail accounts are sometimes targeted with fraudulent e-mails. These e-mails, which claim to be from the "UMN Edu Team", "Service", "HelpDesk" or "Customer Service," ask account holders to share their username and password with the sender--usually threatening to deactivate e-mail accounts if people don't reply quickly.
The U of M Information Technology groups would like to remind you that the U of M will NEVER ask you to provide personal information such as passwords over e-mail.
If you receive an unsolicited e-mail that claims to be from the University:
Some of the e-mail messages are blatantly fraudulent, while others are more subtle and convincing, but all have been very effective in harvesting Internet IDs and passwords. Some have been known to take you to a login page that is very similar in appearance to the University Web login page. See Examples of Phish Targeted at U.
Fraudulent e-mail claiming to come from outside agencies (for example, PayPal, Wells Fargo, TCF) should be directly reported to the company being phished. See OnGuardOnline.gov for good information and advice about these kind of scams, and for tips about how to tell a phishing scam from a legitimate message and how to report phish.
Please be aware that the University of Minnesota does require that all users reset their Internet passwords at least once per year, and OIT sends out e-mail reminders requesting that users reset their own passwords. If you need to change or reset your password but are concerned about the authenticity of the e-mail message, you can always change your password safely by opening a new web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox) and navigating to Internet Account Options page or by calling 1-HELP (612-301-4357).