Click Me Not

The UCLA community has apparently been receiving an intensive batch of fraudulent emails of the type below.  A reminder to delete them.  Do not click on the link provided.

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Dear mail user,

University of California, Los Angeles increased the web-mail server to a new and more secure version.
This will allow your web-mail have a new look, with new functions and anti-spam security.
You are advised to "Click" and "follow" the link below to update and enable advanced security features;

[fraudulent and dangerous link provided]

University of California, Los Angeles
405 Hilgard Ave  Los Angeles, CA 90095
(310) 835-4321
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Note that the general phone number for UCLA is incorrect in the message.

It's hard to be safe; there's so much to remember!

Phishing Warning for Gmail Users

In the past, I have confined email fraud warnings to those specifically targeting UCLA email system users.  However, many faculty either have supplementary gmail accounts or forward their UCLA mail to a gmail account.  If you have gmail, you may get a message that looks like the image above and appears to come from someone you know with a gmail account.  It may refer to a service called Infoaxe or Flipora or something else.  Do not click on it or forward it to anyone else.  If you do click on it, it will steal all your email contacts and send them a message that seems to come from you.  The likely goal of such "phishing" sites is to put something on your computer you don't want. Just delete the message.

A Reminder: Don't Do It

The UCLA email spammers are back with messages telling you to "re-validate" your email:

UCLA.edu Mail Service HelpDesk

UCLA.edu Mail Service messaging center wish to inform all UCLA.edu Email Users. We are upgrading our Webmail clients. Your email account will be upgrade to a new enhanced webmail interface provided by UCLA.edu Mail Service.

UCLA.edu Mail Service will discontinue the use of our current UCLA.edu Email System. You are therefore required to re-validate your mailbox.

To re-validate your mailbox please click the link below: [link you absolutely should not click]

Note that the message doesn't come from UCLA but from "marceloc[at]def.ufla.br."  It contains British usage: ("center wish" instead of "center wishes"). And it contains a typo: ("will be upgrade").  But the real key is that UCLA never sends such messages.  So just delete them and don't click on the links.

Scam to Avoid

I received this scam message - ostensibly from a PBS reporter who I think I had some contact with years ago.  In any event, my name must have been in his email contacts.  I haven't seen this particular fraud around for awhile.  But ignore any such messages you receive from an email account of someone you know.  It only means that the account has been stolen. 

I'm writing this with tears in my eyes, I came down to London, United Kingdom for a short vacation. Unfortunately,I was mugged at the park of the hotel where i stayed,all cash and credit card were stolen off me but luckily for me i still have my passport with me.

I've been to the the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and my return flight leaves in few hours from now but I'm having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let me leave until I settle the bills. Well I really need your financial assistance..

Please let me know if you can help me out?   I'm freaked out at the moment

If you have some way of contacting the person whose account was stolen other than simply responding to the compromised email account, you can tell him/her to try and change the account's password or cancel the account.

Reminder of What Not to Do

When you get emails with messages such as this one:

Your mailbox has exceeded the limit of 20 GB, which is set by your manager You are currently 20.9GB, you will not be able to create new e-mail to send or receive again until you re-validate your mailbox.To validate your mailbox, you can click University of California, Los Angeles/update Thank you, University of California, Los Angeles system administrator 

Don't click.  Note the odd grammar and sentences that don't end in periods.  And, if you look closely, the message often does not come from a UCLA email address.  The one above purports to come from:
University of California, Los Angeles system administrator via mx.aol.com 

As for the poster above, I can't tell you more about it since the movie is in Korean.  But really bad things seem to happen to folks who click on the wrong thing!
  

Our Advice: Delete

You may have gotten the email above which suggests the website is somehow linked to UCLA or the UCLA medical enterprise.  It actually comes from a Brazilian who probably wants to sell you something or worse.  See below:

I suggest you leave Luis to his own devices.  And if you need more from Brazil: