Phishing/Spam Alert (Updated September 2)
Also be aware of clicking links in email messages, since links may direct you to illegitimate websites. On May 15, 2008, some USC account holders received an email requesting that they submit their password information by email or use an embedded link to verify their password. The embedded link led to a fraudulent USC login page. This phishing attempt had the Subject line "USC Alert;" the From field was "University of Southern California--news@usc.edu."
If you have responded to a phishing scheme by submitting information about your USC password, you should immediately go to https://www.usc.edu/its/password to change your USC password. If you are unable to change your USC password, contact the ITS Customer Support Center at 213-740-5555 as soon as possible.
To learn more about phishing, see the About Phishing documentation on the ITS website.
To report spam or phishing attempts, see the Reporting Spam instructions on the ITS website.
When you receive questionable email, be sure to examine the email header and the Reply-to address. Most of the phishing email that USC account holders receive is sent from commercial email addresses, such as live.com. ITS will never send you email from a non-USC email address.
Below you will find a summary of some recent phishing attempts.
On August 29, 2008, some USC account holders received email with the Subject line "Dear Webmail account Owner" requesting that users send their email account details. The Reply-to field is actually customer212@live.com and the From field is customer212@live.com.
On August 27, 2008, some USC account holders received email with the Subject line "Verify Your usc.edu Email Account Now!" requesting that users send their email account details. The Reply-to field is actually customerunit@administrativos.com and the From field is "usc.edu Billing Department" info@usc.edu.
On August 25, 2008, some USC account holders received email with the Subject line "University Of Southern California Email Service" requesting that users send their email account details. The Reply-to field is actually webmaster.service.edu@googlemail.com and the From field is helpdesk@usc.edu.
On June 26, 2008, some USC email account holders received an email with the Subject line "Confirm Your Account" requesting that users send their email account details. The Reply-to field is support.team1@live.com and the From field is USC SUPPORT TEAM.
On June 21, 2008, some USC email account holders received an email with the Subject line "Dear usc Webmail Subscriber" requesting that users click a link or reply to the email to confirm the status of their email account. The Reply-to field is usersubsriberguide@gmail.com and the From field is ACCOUNTMANAGER greer1tr@cmich.edu.
On June 19, 2008, some USC account holders received email from CUSTOMERCARE@USC.EDU with the Subject line: ACCOUNT UPDATE. The Reply-to field is actually customer@accountcentre.ourprofile.info.
On January 21 and 24, 2008, phishing messages were received with the Subject line "VERIFY YOUR USC EMAIL ACCOUNT NOW." These messages were mailed from non-USC email addresses, such as accountupgrades2008@live.com.