Warning about current scam e-mails

An increased number of scam emails are currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster.

These emails with the German subject 'GC1 KLAVIERSPENDE' pretend to be sent by employees of the University of Münster and claim that a piano is to be donated. However, this is actually the beginning of a scam attempt. The criminals try to convince victims to transfer alleged transportation costs without a prior inspection having taken place. The piano itself does not exist and is not shipped by the criminals.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased number of phishing emails are currently being sent to members of the University of Münster. 

These  e-mails impersonate the IT department and have the German subject "An alle Mitarbeiter". They claim that a migration or update of the Outlook mailbox is necessary and that recipients need to verify themselves using their login credentials. This is just a pretext to lure recipients to an external website controlled by the attackers, which collects the entered login credentials.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased number of phishing emails are currently being sent to members of the University of Münster. 

These  e-mails are being sent with varying sender addresses and impersonate the IT support or an employee assistance office. So far, the following subjects have been observed:

  • Re: Technischer Service – Aktualisierungen der Postfachauthentifizierung
  • Important: Claim Your EAF Payment of $4,786.62
  • [Ticket #87849] IT-Service-Desk !!
  • [Ticket #9485] IT-Servicedesk.
Different false pretenses are being used to lure recipients to a website controlled by the attackers, which collects the entered login credentials. Primarily, updates or verifications for the mailbox are mentioned, but also alleged outstanding payments have been observed.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased number of phishing emails are currently being sent to members of the University of Münster. 

These emails pretend to be from the "Helpdesk" with varying sender addresses, including some email addresses from other universities. So far, the following subjects have been observed:

  • Sehr geehrter Nutzer
The emails claim that a migration or update of the Outlook mailbox is necessary and that recipients need to verify themselves using their login credentials. This is just a pretext to lure recipients to an external website controlled by the attackers, which collects the entered login credentials.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased number of scam emails are currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster.

In the emails, the attackers pose as managers or supervisors and ask for assistance with an "important task." The sender's name uses the name of the supervising person, but the emails originate from an external address (often a generic Gmail address). Currently, the names of the recipients are used as the subject.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased number of phishing emails are currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject 'Sicherheitsbenachrichtigung:' followed by your username and claim that a notification regarding task evaluation needs to be viewed. The sender is spoofed as 'it-uni-muenster.de'. This is just a ruse to lure recipients into visiting the malicious website. The included link directs users to an external webpage that convincingly mimics the University of Münster's login page. Any entered login credentials are then forwarded to the attackers.

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject “1 neue Termin-Nachricht” or “Action Required” and pretend to be an invitation to an appointment. They contain a link to an external website on which the University of Münster's login page has been replicated. The emails come from external senders, some of them from other universities.

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject "E-Mail-Zustellung fehlgeschlagen - (1)" and claim that emails were returned to the sender due to a synchronization error and that these messages now need to be retrieved manually. This is just a false pretext to trick recipients into revealing their login details on an external website that mimics a generic webmail interface. The emails were sent from an external address

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject line "Wichtige Personalanpassung" and claim that there have been staff adjustments that need to be verified. This is just a false pretext to trick recipients into revealing their login details on an external website that mimics the Outlook interface. The emails were sent from an external address but pretend to be from an internal sender.

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject "Wichtiger Hinweis: Migration auf Outlook Webmail 2024" and claim that a migration to a new version of "Outlook Webmail" requires a registration. This is merely a false pretext to entice recipients to disclose their credentials on an external website. The emails were sent from an external sender address named "Nurefşan Fedakar".

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject "Benachrichtigung aus Microsoft Outlook" and claim that a "termination" of the email mailbox is imminent and a "verification" is necessary to prevent this. This is merely a false pretext to entice recipients to disclose their credentials on an external website. The emails were sent from an external sender address named "Iwona Chmura-Rutkowska".

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject "Re: Bestätigung oder Stornierung" and claim that the storage space for one's own mailbox has been surpassed and actions are necessary. This is just a false pretext to entice recipients to reveal their access data on an external website. The emails were sent from multiple different sender addresses from the University of Bonn. Legitimate notifications about full storage space via email do not exist.

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The emails have the subject "E-Mail-Speicherlimit überschritten" and claim that the storage space for one's own mailbox has been surpassed and actions are necessary. This is just a false pretext to entice recipients to reveal their access data on an external website. The emails were sent from various sender addresses, including from internal email addresses. Legitimate notifications about full storage space via email do not exist.

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Note on unauthorized e-mail apps

A number of apps and programs are not permitted to retrieve emails from the University Münster mailboxes (both via Exchange and IMAP or POP).

The list currently includes the following applications:

  • Outlook-App for Android and iOS
  • Outlook for MacOS (when using IMAP with CloudSync)
  • The "new Outlook" or "Outlook (new)" (the Outlook version pre-installed under Windows 11)
  • Edison Mail
  • Newton Mail
  • Spark Mail
  • BlueMail
  • Xiaomi Mail/MiMail
  • Canary Mail
  • myMail
  • Mail.ru
Email apps that use (cloud-based) AI functions to read and analyse emails are also prohibited.

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Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The e-mails have the German subject "Re: Lohn- und Gehaltsabrechnung für Mitarbeiter" or "RE:  ICT Support." and claim that an update or confirmation is necessary for the email service. The emails have been sent out from external email addresses under different names without any relation to the University of Muenster. The link leads to an external website that is under the control of the attackers and forwards the login data to the originator. It mimics the appearance of the Outlook Web app.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The e-mails have the subject "Dringend: Aktualisierung Ihrer E-Mail-Informationen erforderlich", "Eilige Maßnahme erforderlich: Aktualisieren Sie Ihre E-Mail-Informationen" or "AW: Achtung Mitarbeiter und Angestellte," and claim that an update is necessary for the email service. The emails have been sent out from external email addresses with different names, e. g. "uni-muenster". The link leads to an external website that is under the control of the attackers and forwards the login data to the originator. The real login website of the University of Münster was recreated in every detail.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The e-mails have the subject "Unser System hat am 11. Juni 2024 fünf fehlgeschlagene eingehende Nachrichten erkannt" and claim that some messages could not be delivered due to an error and therefore a "recovery" is necessary. The sender is pretended to be “IT_Support@uni-muenster.de” with an internal sender address. However, the link leads to an external website that is under the control of the attackers and forwards the login data to the originator. The real login website of the University of Münster was recreated in every detail.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The observed e-mails have the subject "Re: Routineanwendung für Lohn- und Gehaltsabrechnungen" and come from an external address, mostly with the name "Awais Ahmed/Sales/Islamabad". Users are requested to check their salary payout ("Verdienstabrechnung") but are instead forwarded to an external website which is controlled by the attackers to harvest their credentials.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The e-mails have the subject "Sie haben zwei wichtige Nachrichten von der Universität Münster erhalten, die nicht zugestellt werden konnten Aufgrund einer Systemstörung." and claim that some messages could not be delivered due to an error and therefore a "recovery" is necessary. The sender is pretended to be “UNIVERSITÄT MÜNSTER-KONTAKT” with an internal sender address. However, the link leads to an external website that is under the control of the attackers and forwards the login data to the originator. The real login website of the University of Münster was recreated in every detail.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

Those emails were sent from different external addresses and give the impression that the mailbox storage space is full and action is necessary. Different German titles could be observed, such as "Sie nutzen derzeit 100% Ihrer gesamten Speicherkapazität. Bitte geben Sie sofort Speicherplatz frei.", "Sie haben 100% Ihres Speicherplatzlimits erreicht. Es sind Maßnahmen erforderlich, um Probleme zu vermeiden." or "Bitte archivieren oder löschen Sie die Dateien. Ihre Dateien.". The emails contain links that redirect to a website that deceptively replicates the login interface of the University of Münster, but is controlled by criminals.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The observed e-mails have the subject "Routine für die Lohn- und Gehaltsabrechnung der Mitarbeiter" and come from an external address, mostly with the name "Simon László". Users are requested to check their salary payout ("Verdienstabrechnung") but are instead forwarded to an external website which is controlled by the attackers to harvest their credentials.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The phishing e-mails are sent with the subject "Bitte beachten Sie, dass Sie eine ausstehende Nachricht zu Ihrem Gehaltsabrechnungskalender für Februar haben" and use the fake sender "Helpdesk - University of Münster" with a sender address of the University of Düsseldorf.  The content asks you to check supposed "messages" relating to payroll accounting and contains a link to an external website that is a deceptively genuine replica of the IT portal login page.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The observed e-mails have the subject "Re: Routine für die Lohn- und Gehaltsabrechnung der Mitarbeiter" and pretend to be from a "Margarita Hernandez" from the "Abteilung für Lohn- und Gehaltsrechnung" (payroll/salary department). Users are requested to check their salary payout but are instead forwarded to an external website which is controlled by the attackers to harvest their credentials.

Warning about current phishing e-mails

An increased amount of phishing e-mails is currently being sent to many members of the University of Münster. 

The phishing e-mails are sent out with the subject "Die Universität Münster hat Ihnen einen wichtigen Bescheid geschickt" and use the fake sender "Die Universität Münster-Portal". Various sender addresses have been observed, some from other universities. The content requests the accessing of supposed "Bescheiden" and contains a link to an external website that deceptively imitates the IT portal login.

Warning about the software update for the new Outlook version in 2024

The new Outlook version will replace the pre-installed e-mail program in Windows in 2024, and later also the classic Outlook from the Office package. The new version synchronizes data with the Microsoft Cloud when using IMAP or POP (Exchange is not affected), which means that e-mail content and passwords are transmitted to Microsoft.

Warning about Current Scam E-mails

Several attempts of targeted scam via e-mail have been observed over the past few weeks. In those cases directors of different departments have been impersonated to send out e-mails with requests for assistance ("Are you available?").

Warning about Current Extortion E-mails

Lately a rising amount of extortion attempts with spam e-mails has been sent to members of the University. The originators usually claim to have "hacked" into a person's computer or e-mail account and threaten to publish sensitive information, if their demands are not met. Often a payment of in a crypto currency like Bitcoin is requested. All those claims are mere pretences to urge the receiving personmto give into their demands.

Microsoft Outlook for macOS transfers data to the cloud

When setting up IMAP accounts with Microsoft Outlook for macOS with the option "Synchronize with Microsoft Cloud" enabled by default, passwords and e-mail content are forwarded to the Microsoft Cloud (see Heise). This means that sensitive data is no longer confidential, but is transmitted to Microsoft.