Identity Theft on the Rise - Be Careful Out There

The University has developed an excellent Identity Theft Web site. You will find it located at http://identityweb.umich.edu. This site contains numerous articles and links to information that will prevent you from becoming the next Identify Theft victim. Recent research reports that one in twenty people are fooled by these types of attacks, which is why the thieves keep at it. Our goal is to make sure you don't get caught in the scams.

Take this test to see what risks you may be taking.

Major threat this month: Phishing attacks that seem to come from Citibank, Paypal, Citizens Bank and US Bank Phishing attacks have been doubling every month. In a phishing attack, the thieves pretend to be sending you to a reputable site like Citibank and ask for your private data, so they can steal your money or your identity.

Also this month, graphical spam is increasing. Spammers send you a picture of the offer instead of the text of the offer, so that your company or internet provider's spam blockers are powerless to stop them even if they use very bad language.

Suggestions to be safe:

1. DON'T open email attachments from anyone unless you know the sender and you were expecting the attachment.
2. DON'T click on links in emails or web sites unless you can guarantee the email came from someone who is not trying to fool you and that the web site is actually the site you think it is.
3. DON'T disclose private information unless you initiated the need to do so.

For more CMT and ISR Computing information visit http://compute.isr.umich.edu/ms/.

For Computing Alerts and emergency news visit http://www.compute.isr.umich.edu/ms/alerts.html

Steve Munn
Manager of Information Technology
Survey Research Center
University of Michigan / ISR
426 Thompson St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248
(734) 764-8007 fax (734) 764-8383 Cell (734) 323-9785