Phishing Attempt - Hcc.hawaii Warning Alert !!!

Reported on: July 26, 2009

Description: A phishing attempt has been reported supposedly from Hcc.hawaii Email Management.

Action: Please do NOT reply to the email. To prevent compromises:

• NEVER send your password or other confidential personal information in response to email. No responsible entity requests information this way.
• DO NOT REPLY to suspect mail. It just demonstrates that you're a live target.
• Make sure you're up-to-date with all operating system updates.
• Make sure you're up-to-date in any anti-virus and anti-spyware updates.
• Don't save passwords to your email account on your system .

Sample Message:

Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2009 07:39:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Hcc.hawaii Email Management
Reply-To: acconut_a@ymail.com
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Subject: Hcc.hawaii Warning Alert !!!

Dear Account User

This Email is from Hcc.hawaii Email Management and we are sending it to every Hcc.hawaii Email User Accounts Owner for safety. we are having congestions due to the anonymous registration of Hcc.hawaii accounts so we are shutting down some Hcc.hawaii accounts and your account was among those to be deleted. We are sending this email to you so that you can verify and let us know if you still want to use this account. If you are still interested please confirm your account by filling the space below.Your User name, password, date of birth and your country information would be needed to verify your account.

Due to the congestion in all Hcc.hawaii users and removal of all unused Hcc.hawaii Accounts, Hcc.hawaii would be shutting down all unused Accounts, You will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Login Information below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.

* Username: ..............................
* Password: ................................
* Date of Birth: ............................
* Alternative Email .........................
* Country Or Territory: ................

After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconveniences.

Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

Sincerely,
Hcc.hawaii Email Management

Background Information: There has been a recent rash of phishing scams targeted at UH/HCC email account holders. Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from financial institutions, educational institutions or IT Administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging.