Beware of e-mail "Phishing" for information! Fraudulent emails appearing to come from Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bank, and others have been reported from IU employees in the last few days. See the following article from the October 6, 2004 edition of the UITS Monitor:

Phishing is a form of fraud where e-mail is sent out to collect your personal information. This e-mail looks like it comes from legitimate companies such as CitiBank, eBay, Best Buy, or PayPal, asking you to verify or update your information using a link or Web form provided in the message.

Be sure any such message is legitimate. You can do this by visiting the institution's Web site to get confirmation of the request. However, do not use the links or contact information provided in the e-mail. Instead browse to the Web site and use the contact information there to get assistance.

For more about e-mail fraud, see:

New e-mail scams are emerging on a regular basis. Recently, e-mails that appear to be from IT administration (even specifically the IUSB security department are telling users their account is about to be suspended unless they confirm their information. Do NOT respond to such messages. Our IT administrators would NEVER ask for your information in such a manner.

This type of message is "phishing" for your passwords, account numbers, or other personal information. Many appear to be from well know banking institutions, PayPal, etc. Do NOT respond to them. If you think it might be legitimate, contact the institution directly to confirm.

Protect your identity and financial information. Be alert for scams.