Information Security Bulletin
Issue #2012-03
Raising awareness of information security related issues and concerns.
Current Scams - June 2012
Scams are ever changing and here are ones that appear to be making the rounds lately:
Facebook Privacy Notice A bogus status update is making the rounds pretending to increase privacy. It usually says
that if you copy-paste a specific warning into your status update, people can’t use your photos, updates and any other data.
Unfortunately, it is bogus, Facebook’s going public has nothing to do with your privacy and posting that statement doesn’t protect
you in any way. Always remember, when it comes to Facebook privacy, “what happens in Facebook is unlikely to stay in
Facebook”! Learn what your security settings do and set them accordingly.
Amazon ‘Order Cancellation’ emails. If you didn’t order, ignore these. The scammers take you to a look-alike site to
capture your credentials.
Free Walmart (Best Buy or Target) $75 gift cards. This is appearing via phone texts, e-mails and even on
Facebook. Don’t respond!. Texting back “stop” tells scammers it is a monitored account and opens the floodgates for more.
Speak up by reporting these to the FTC at http://www.ftc.gov.
“Like” a Black Lion Photo. The link takes you to a site with a white lion that was digitally changed to black. At best, it
raises the owner’s view counts to give him/her better ranking in the search engines or money from the advertisers. At worst, it loads
viruses on your machine. Ignore it and don’t click.
Switch to Pink (or Green) Facebook! Click this will lead to a takeover of your Facebook account that then spews
out the same message to all your friends along with other spam, all pretending you sent it. If you clicked, be sure to clear the
Recognized Devices (Security Settings>Recognized Devices) and check the Active Sessions (End Activity for any that are not
yours). While in Security Settings, consider improving your security by enabling Login Notifications and Secure Browsing.
Find out who is viewing your Facebook profile! Every one of these is virus-laden junk that loads onto your
machine, slows it down and occasionally steals all sorts of credentials. We know it is hard, but resist the urge to click!
Emergency Money Transfers This has been a highly successful scam, preying on our natural desire to help a friend. It
invariably involves someone stuck somewhere with lost wallets and passports who need money to get back to the United States and
requires you to wire money using Western Union or another transfer service.
For further reading, we recommend:
• Phishing and other schemes using the IRS name http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=214917,00.html
• Snopes top 25 hottest urban legends http://snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp
• Internet Crime Schemes http://www.ic3.gov/crimeschemes.aspx
• Common Online Scams http://onguardonline.gov/articles/0002-common-online-scams
• 16 Ways You Can be Phone Scammed http://800notes.com/arts/LFRVNXyqwQBNrAjLF8wQyg
Information Security Team:
Cheryl Bowman, Information Security Risk Advisor 831-6574 cbowman@epcc.edu
Richard Becker, Security Analyst 831-6411 rbecker3@epcc.edu
Richard Buller, Chief Information Security Officer 831-6312 rbuller@epcc.edu
The El Paso County Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or
gender identity.