Advisory: Phishing Attempts Against Cornell Accounts

ITS has observed recent attempts to "phish", or fraudulently acquire, user names and passwords for members of the WCMC community, as well as the main Ithaca campus. These messages often feature subject lines such as "Confirm Your E-mail Address", and invite the user to "verify" their account by emailing their password or clicking on a link to a web page allegedly run by ITS or CIT.

Phishing attempts are a common threat online. While there are tools available to help users automatically identify fraudulent messages, being in the know about ITS policies and procedures is the best way to identify these threats.

• ITS staff will never ask for your password in an email, over the phone, or in person.
• Announcements from ITS about university accounts or computing services will always come through as a broadcast message.
• ITS does not conduct "account verification" through email or through visiting a website. ITS only removes accounts for users no longer actively enrolled or employed with WCMC.
• Password changes can only be done through the myPassword service.
• ITS is the department responsible for computing services within the Medical College. Messages purporting to be from groups that are not ITS should be treated with great suspicion.

Users sent suspicious emails about their account or password should not click any links in these emails or reply to them. Instead, please notify ITS Support (x6-4878 from any WCMC phone, or support@med.cornell.edu) about the email you've received so that we may take appropriate action.

If you have any questions about this advisory, please feel free to contact ITS Support.