Email warns students about Internet scams

Every day, students at Boston University fall prey to email scams that compromise their accounts, an Information Security official said in an email to students Tuesday.

In light of Information Security Awareness Week, IT Executive Director Quinn Shamblin sent a series of tips aimed to help students avoid getting scammed.

“Students are aware of this, that faculty and staff are aware. It’s good to remind people, particularly when there are new or different types of phishing going on,” said BU spokesman Colin Riley.  “And there are so many.”

Shamblin told students to be wary of password requests. Students should delete emails that ask for their passwords, which are common forms of scamming, he wrote. The email also told students to delete emails that mention financial accounts they don’t own or have never seen.

Above all, Shamblin said that students should not click on any link in emails that seem questionable. A dangerous link can be disguised as a web address that’s as common as Google.com and end up taking you to a completely different website, he said. When it comes to deceptive links, he said that students should type the address that shows up in the email.

Questionable emails can be sent to abuse@bu.edu, he said.

Riley said that students should never reveal their passwords or other personal information. BU never sends requests for passwords or other information, he said.

Maddie Rosenberger, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said the email benefited her by notifying her about phishing scams.

“I didn’t know what phishing scams were before I got the email today,” she said.

Other students said that the email wouldn’t affect behavior much.

“Most people are smart enough not to get phishing scams,” said John Cho, a CAS sophomore.

“Phishing scams really work for older generations and for the really younger people, but not so much for college students.”