There is currently a phishing email making the rounds claiming to be from PSG Wealth.

Be on the lookout for an email requesting you to update your personal information, as your PSG online “profile details will expire”. The link redirects users to a page that looks like the PSG securities trading website, but is a clever forgery.

PSG have assured us that they will never send you an email asking to provide sensitive information online. So it is important to check the validity of any such emails before you respond to requests like these.

Below is an example of one such mail:

There are 3 obvious signs that this mail is fraudulent:

• The sender´s email address (`from´ address) is disguised to look like it comes from PSG Wealth. The message is actually sent from a different address that does not match our PSG email addresses (using an @psg.com.sa address instead of an @psg.co.za address).
• The recipient is not specified.

• The website link provided is not to a PSG domain address and the website is not indicated as being secure. (no little padlock icon or https: in the URL)

What should you do if you have already provided your details in responding to this phishing scam?

If you responded to such an email, login to your account by typing psg.co.za into your browser window and reset your password immediately.

Continue to monitor your account for any unauthorised transactions and alert PSG immediately if you note any suspicious transactions.

Avoid becoming a victim in future: (This applies to all phishing scams, not just this fraudulent scam)

• Type in website addresses – do not follow links embedded in emails.
• Do not reuse passwords, especially for financial sites. 
• Do not click on attachments, unless you know who they are from and are expecting the document in question.
• Never part with your login details.

If you are not sure that a request for information is legitimate, rather contact the company to verify its authenticity.

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Report the spam/phishing mail to the following addresses:
help@sun.ac.za and sysadm@sun.ac.za. 

Attach the phishing or suspicious mail on to the message if possible. There is a good tutorial on how to do this at the following link (which is safe) : http://stbsp01.stb.sun.ac.za/innov/it/it-help/Wiki%20Pages/Spam%20sysadmin%20Eng.aspx
1. Start up a new mail addressed to sysadm@sun.ac.za  (CC: help@sun.ac.za)
2. Use the Title “SPAM” (without quotes) in the Subject.
3. With this New Mail window open, drag the suspicious spam/phishing mail from your Inbox into the New Mail Window. It will attach the mail as an enclosure and a small icon with a light yellow envelope will appear in the attachments section of the New Mail.
4. Send the mail.

[Article by David Wiles]

If you are the owner of an Apple product like an iPhone, iPad or MacBook and have an AppleID, then please be aware of a phishing scam currently making the rounds. It targets university personnel (using university usernames – including student numbers)

The subject lines will be “Account Suspension Notification” or “Account Activity Notification” and will tell you that because AppleID account has been logged in from “multiple locations and different countries” your account has been suspended, and you need to log in using your AppleID to reactivate your account on Apple.

Now, if you don’t have an Apple product, this would be something to ignore and spot as a phishing scam, but if you do have an Apple product you might *panic* and click on the link.

This is exactly what the scammers want you to do. You would be taken to a forged website that looks like the Apple Login page and asked to type in your Apple ID username and password. That is what the scammers are after! They can then access your real AppleID account and steal information, credit cards details etc.

1. Don’t open links inside emails, especially if you’re not 100% sure who sent it.
2. if you’re about to click on a link from a company as reputable as Apple, It will always have a customer service department you can contact. You can ask if Apple has sent you a link requesting updated contact information. Or better yet, log into your Apple account; click on the Manage My Apple ID tab, to make sure your information is up to date.
3. Ensure you have up-to-date antivirus and malware/anti-phishing software installed on your computer.

[Article by David Wiles]

With the graduation just around the corner and most students already on holiday, and many of our colleagues already taking a well-deserved break, and collectively we all tend to be a little less vigilant.

The end of the year vacation period is generally a time when phishing attacks on our email accounts drop, and it is speculated that the phishers know there are significantly fewer employees working during the holidays, so there are fewer opportunities for targeted users to actually open malicious attachments.

However spear-phishing attacks increase when the Information technology and “cyber-security”  centres of large enterprises like the university security operations are lightly staffed or understaffed. The scammers know that there is a greater chance for them to gain access to accounts via spear-phishing as the “watchdogs” are fewer.

What is spear-phishing?

Spear-phishing is a targeted form of phishing in which fraudulent emails are sent to specific individuals at an institution like the university in an effort to gain access to confidential information. Often a trustworthy entity is impersonated that uses “urgent” language to requesting sensitive information or actions.

[In August this year the MacEwan University in Canada was targeted when a series of fraudulent emails convinced MacEwan University staff to change electronic banking information for one of the university’s major vendors, resulting in $11.8 million being transferred to criminals.]

The following spear-phishing e-mail is appearing in some student and personnel accounts and it seems to be targeting university accounts specifically as the salutation is a personal name: (in this case your e-mail address, or in some cases your display name in e-mail e.g Wiles, David <dw@sun.ac.za>

The mail will look like this:

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Please be aware of this spear-phishing scam. No university department or division will ever ask you for passwords via e-mail.

[ARTICLE BY DAVID WILES]