An identity theft scam circulated through the UF GatorMail inboxes of students, faculty and staff Tuesday.
The fraudulent e-mail asked recipients to submit personal information under the pretense that the university was asking for verification of their account.
The message asked recipients for their e-mail username and password, date of birth and other information.
Upon receiving the message, Marc Hoit, interim chief information officer, sent an e-mail to students warning them of it.
Hoit stressed the importance of the password, which allows access to personal information, registration and other processes that should remain private.
"Your password is your first defense for keeping all of that information safe," Hoit said in a phone interview. "Never respond to anyone who asks for a password."
If students have responded to the e-mail, they should log on to GatorLink and change their passwords immediately, Hoit said.
If they cannot, they should contact the UF Computing Help Desk as soon as possible.
This particular attempt at identity theft is known as "phishing."
According to the UF Web site, phishing is a type of scam in which predators lure people to fraudulent Web sites posing as known, trustworthy sites. The user's information is then taken under false pretenses, usually with the goal of financial gain.
The organizers of the scam are being pursued, but there is little chance that they will be found.
"They do all sorts of things that make it very difficult to track," Hoit said.
The message's subject line read "VERIFY YOUR UFL EMAIL ACCOUNT NOW" and claimed to be from the "Ufl.edu Team."
Hoit learned of the e-mail when he received one this morning. Students and staff also forwarded the message to him as they received it.
In the future, students and staff members should always be suspicious if an e-mail asks for secure information.
"The policy is that you never share that with anyone, not even our help desk people," Hoit said.
"Anytime you see that message, it should be a flag."
