I just received this friendly reminder from ACNS regarding some new Facebook Phishing attempts that are circulating.  Please be sure to treat all strange e-mails with a dash of skeptisism and follow up on their link to “Dirty Dozen Clues To Avoid Phishing Attempts”.

“Now that we’re all back at work with driveways cleared of snow, it’s time to realize that the weather didn’t stop the spammers and phishers. While I try not to fill your inboxes with warnings about every single phishing attempt, this one is widespread enough that I thought it warranted a note.

Facebook is experiencing a fairly large-scale password-reset exploit. Spammers are sending out notices for people to reset their password, or notifying people that their password has already been changed and is attached as a document. CSU has seen some of the second version, encouraging the user to open the password attachment.

Please take this opportunity to remind your users of good email self-policing behavior:

1) Be suspicious of all attachments, even from people you know
2) Never reply to an email asking for your username and password
3) Never open an attachment that claims to contain your password

For more tips, see my “Dirty Dozen Clues to Avoid Phishing Attempts”… http://www.acns.colostate.edu/?page=security_dozen“

Dear All,

ACNS has put together the following list of tell-tale phishing attempt giveaways that you should all be familiar with.  I get a lot of inquiries regarding whether something is a phishing message or not – and usually just the suspicion is enough – however, here are some nice rules to live by for the next time you check your inbox:

http://www.acns.colostate.edu/?page=security_dozen

I just got this e-mail from Stephen Lovaas (ACNS) who found this great example of a phishing e-mail. He has labeled the lines that should jump out and scream “phishing” when reviewing questionable e-mail (those that contain [PHISHING]). Please check this out, and use this knowledge the next time you get a strange message.

—–Original Message—–

[PHISHING] From: System Administrator [mailto:rawalel@mnstate.edu]
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 2:13 AM
Subject: Mailbox Has exceeded Storage Limit

[PHISHING] Dear Webmail User,
This message was sent automatically by a program on Webmail which periodically checks the size of inboxes, where new messages are received.

Your mailbox has exceeded the storage limit set by your administrator. You may not be able to send or receive new mail until your mailbox size is increased by your system administrator.

[PHISHING] To help us re-set your SPACE on our database prior to maintain your INBOX, you must contact your system administrator by replying this e-mail and enter your:

[PHISHING] Current Username: { } and PW: { } to increase your storage limit.
You will continue to receive this warning message periodically if your inbox
[PHISHING] size continues to exceed its size limit or between 18 and 20 MB.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[PHISHING] System Administrator

This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and contains information that is privileged and confidential.