Cybersecurity Alert : Email scam cheating you money (for student)

Dear Students,

ITSC recently received a few reports of email scams with senders claimed to be someone you know (e.g. your supervisors).  The scammers usually use non-UST email addresses, but with a display name same as a person you know  (e.g.  Profession Chan Tai Man  <professor345@gmail.com>).  They first tried to induce you into a short email dialog, and then tricked you to purchase stored-value gift cards (e.g. iTunes) and sending the redemption details to them to benefit.

We would like to remind all UST members to take the following steps to protect yourselves against common email fraud.

• Check carefully the email sender’s email address (instead of just the Display name), and make sure you really know the sender’s identity before doing what you are asked to do
• Try to contact the sender in another way (e.g. phone, official email addresses, chat) to verify his/her request
• Be vigilant about the requests of the email scams. It is uncommon that your supervisor need your financial assistance

For details about protecting yourself against social engineering attack and email phishing, please refer to the information below.

https://itsc.ust.hk/services/cyber-security/phishing/security-tips-to-avoid-phishing/#social_eng

Should you require any assistance or have any enquiries, please feel free to contact ITSC Service Desk (Tel: 2358-6200) or email to cchelp@ust.hk. 

Thank you for your attention.

Best regards,
Charles Choy
IT Security Officer
ITSC