While it has become commonplace for unsuspecting individuals to receive scam emails from “Nigerian princes” asking for money so they can save their kingdoms, it is somewhat rare that university students receive scam emails on secure school accounts.

Several CMU students recently reported having received suspicious emails through MavZone. The emails announced a part-time bookkeeping job and appeared similar to those commonly sent out by Career Services announcing job postings on behalf of approved companies. A red flag was raised when, after responding, students were asked to provide personal banking information that included account and routing numbers, according to an online announcement on the CMU website.

“We all get spam on our personal email accounts… but as a student, you would like to think that when you open your MavZone email, the emails that you’re getting are all business-oriented and legitimate,” said John Marshall, Vice President of Student Services. “So, we take it very seriously when we get those spammers who are trying to defraud our students.”

Marshall estimates that, including current and former students, there are around 15,000 email accounts under the “@coloradomesa.edu” domain. While MavZone is a secured portal, it is possible for that domain to be exploited by hackers who find an “@coloradomesa.edu” address in the inbox of a compromised external email account, like Gmail or Yahoo.

The questionable emails were quickly reported to CMU’s IT Department, which in addition to protecting campus networks from viruses and malware, also scans incoming emails for patterns.

“These email scams come in so many forms and fashions, and fortunately for us, we have a really good and fastidious IT department that keeps a really close eye on these things,” Marshall said.

More than anything, Marshall stresses the importance of students being proactive in maintaining their own information security. One of the first things students may notice about the new MavZone login page is the bright yellow IT Help Desk link. The department’s website (found under the “Current Students” tab on www.coloradomesa.edu) provides students with resources and tips about information security, including videos and links.

“It’s really helpful to us when students can get in touch with IT and say, ‘I got a weird email, can you guys take a look at this?’ because we can’t screen everything,” Marshall said.

cblackme@mavs.coloradomesa.edu