Messages of the Day

Subject: New phishing attempt: dangerous link to click
Date: Thu, Oct 15 2009 -- 10:27 AM
Posted by: Mara's Staff Account

We don't generally warn users about phishing attempts or other
scams but this is something new:

We're now seeing an email scam that asks our users to click on a
link to change their account settings. This message is not from
us, and the actual link (which appears to go to a Panix site) does
*not* go to a Panix site. (Looking at the full headers of the mail
and the HTML code that displays the fake Panix link will show this
to you.)

Should Panix ever have occasion to ask you to change our settings,
we would make sure to have a member of our staff sign the message.
It would be directed to you, specifically or to the MOTD mailing
list, and would suggest that you make any changes on our secure
server at https://config.panix.com. You are safest if you enter
that URL yourself into your browser instead of clicking on a link.
(Eleanor Evans has been suggesting to some users that they update
their user information on that server.) You should make sure the
certificate is valid, and remember that you're always safest if
you enter the URL into your browser rather than clicking on a link.

Remember, if you get mail about new settings with a link to click,
you should not click that link, and it's wise to be a little
suspicious of links to click unless you can check them out.

We realize that this is confusing. The folks who want your
private information or control of your computer intend it to be.
If you have questions, please ask staff.