Phishing alert:: high incidence of email attacks seeking personal information

A particularly high number of attacks via email aimed at the theft of personal information have been made against UCLA staff and faculty, announced Jim Davis, associate vice chancellor and chief information officer of the Office of Information Technology. In a May 12 letter to members of the campus community, Davis wrote:

UCLA, like other universities around the country, is experiencing a particularly high number of email messages being sent to UCLA account holders, asking for UCLA log-on information. These messages are designed to look like UCLA messages and trick you into replying with your logon information. The term for this type of message is "phishing", which you may have already encountered regarding bank accounts, PayPal accounts, or other email providers.

If you receive any message asking for your logon information, SSN, birthdate, university ID, or any other personal information, ignore it and immediately delete the email. Be aware that the Bruin OnLine staff will never request your password nor challenge/response phrase for any reason.

If you receive any suspected phishing message, you should not use any links embedded in the email nor should you reply to the message. If you have any questions regarding a message's authenticity, immediately contact the help desk of your service provider.

If you did reply to an email with your UCLA logon account information or have any questions regarding phishing, please contact the Bruin OnLine Help Desk at (310) 267-HELP (4357) or stop by the BOL office at 124 Kerckhoff Hall. You may also email questions to the BOL Help Desk at consult@ucla.edu.