Wouldn't it be nice to get a chunk of $14 million that belonged to a former German property magnate who went down in a plane crash in the year 2000? It would definitely help pay off student loans.
A recent e-mail sent to some students promised just that. All you had to do, the message stated, was reply with your full name, address, phone number - your most private information. That's all, and you're instantly rich.
MSU Federal Credit Union reported March 3 that a "phishing" attack had hit the bank. A fraudulent source sent out e-mails that asked for account numbers, personal identification numbers and credit card numbers to gain access to accounts.
Unfortunately, people really do fall for these Internet scams. At least five students responded to the "phishing" attack on the credit union, demonstrating that we are in an age where we need to be very suspicious of any e-mail received, even if it looks legitimate.
The credit union officials said they would never ask for this kind of information. Even if they lost their customer's account information, they have it backed up on another server in Colorado.
As for the money from the deceased German guy, that e-mail was full of phrases like, "I am mr. Frank Dave,i am contacting you in regards to a business transfer of sum money ? i am sending you this mail with the best of intensions(sic)." It's reasonable to expect that, with all the different viruses and technology in this age, an e-mail with misspelled words and outrageous claims should be treated as a scam.
The point here is: Never reply to an e-mail asking for your personal identification numbers or account numbers, and always look at your inbox with a skeptical eye. This is not to say you should instantly delete e-mails from your mother, but Internet scammers are getting more and more adept at making their messages look legitimate - and that's serious business. They're going after students, who are accustomed to doing all their transactions online.
Even though it might seem unfair and unnecessary, we must be more critical of the messages that land in our inboxes.
