Sophos Antivirus never distributes updates by email, and all Sophos Antivirus clients provided by VCU are configured to update themselves automatically when connected to the internet.

Email messages claiming to be Sophos Antivirus updates have begun circulating around the internet, according to Sophos. The emails contain an executable attachment that will infect computers with a virus. Current samples of the scam have the subject "Update your SOPHOS IDE scanner" and contain an attachment named "SOPHOS IDE scanner.rar".

The text and filenames could change, however. Do not trust any email claiming to provide updates to a Sophos product.

The email has a subject of "YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT MAY BE DELETED IN TWO DAYS (VERY URGENT)". Not only does it ask for your password to be sent (you should never share your password with anyone), it asks for it to be sent to an email address hosted on gmail.com.

Many of the emails were sent from the email account of a VCU staff member. Even if an email requesting your password or confidential information is sent from a VCU email address, do not share it! It's likely that the sender's email address was spoofed or that the sender's email account has been compromised and is under the control of a spammer or phisher. It's as trivial for someone to spoof a sender email address as it is for someone to put a fake return address on an envelope and mail it.

If confidential information is requested and your uncertain whether the request is legitimate or whether you should share the information being requested, ask your supervisor and contact the sender via phone (but do not call a phone number in the email since it could be the phisher's phone number).

The email states that unused email accounts are being deleted and that you need to respond if you are still using your account.

Phishing scams often take advantage of the recipient's fear or greed and this one is no exception.

VCU's Technology Services staff and other VCU business units will never ask you to email your password. Per VCU's Password Standard:

Passwords must be kept secret and must not be shared.

and

Passwords must not be inserted into email messages or other forms of electronic communication...

If you receive this email, or one like it, please delete it and do not respond to it. If you accidentally respond, change your password immediately and contact the VCU Help Desk to notify them that your password may have been compromised.

To learn more about how phishing works, what phishers might ask for, how they'll try to get you to share info., signs of a potential attack and how to protect yourself, visit our Phishing page.

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