Email hoaxes

Don't be fooled by "too good to be true" schemes and email warnings that try to convince you to forward hoaxes to everyone in your address book. If you don't recognize the sender of an email message, your safest option is to simply delete the message without opening it.

The JDBGMGR hoax is currently making its way around the college. This email message describes a "virus" and offers instructions on how to delete it. The file it indicates that you should delete has a teddy bear icon. This is NOT a virus. It is a file that is part of the Windows Operating System. While not a critical file for most of us, there is no need to take any action if you receive this email. It is a hoax.

Another currently popular scheme is to send email that looks like it is from a legitimate source (eBay, PayPal, Best Buy) claiming that there is some sort of problem with your membership information. The email requests that you follow a link to a site that then asks for personal information such as your social security number, credit card numbers, etc. If you receive this sort of email, DON'T follow the link. Instead, if you believe it may be a legitimate request, open your web browser and enter the company's url by hand. If you cannot find reference to the claimed problem from the company's site itself, either through their membership area or your account area, the message was most likely a hoax.

Sophos makes the following list of the most prevalent email hoaxes available so that you can avoid being a party to the spread of these messages. Follow the links in the list to see more information about the hoax. This feed is updated dynamically.