E-mail scams sent to K-State Zimbra webmail accounts caused problems for over 130 K-State students a little more than a week ago.

Harvard Townsend, chief information security officer of Information Technology Services, said there were four separate e-mails sent out; one said "Jessica wants to meet you," and there was also a Twitter.com invite, an E-card from Hallmark and shipping instructions from Amazon.com. Townsend said each e-mail had an attachment with it.

If the attachments were opened and run, they would infect the computer and then use the account contacts to send the e-mails to other accounts.

Information Technology Services has since taken care of the recent e-mails. Townsend said the infected computers were fixed and the e-mails were run through the K-State anti-virus software to prevent them from reappearing.

Townsend said malicious software like this spreads quickly, and they have to rely on users to use common sense not to open them.

"The lesson here is people need to be very aware of e-mail attachments," Townsend said.

Bre Burns, senior in family studies and human services, said she receives scam e-mails asking for her account information every couple of months.

"They do look pretty legit," she said.

Burns said although the e-mails are convincing, she has received several warnings from technology services about them and knows not to reply.

Although the recent scams have been put to rest, it can serve as a reminder for students to be constantly aware of what they open and send through email.

Scam e-mails disguised as regular e-mails from technology services on campus that trick students into giving away account information are an ongoing problem at K-State, Townsend said.

Townsend said these types of e-mail scams have nothing to do with the K-State's Zimbra service, but they are common sorts of problems that come with any e-mail service.

James Lyall, associate vice provost for information technology services, said they are managing the problem the best they can, but it can be difficult because malicious software has increased in frequency and volume and is becoming more and more sophisticated.

Jeremiah Poage, from the technology service center, said they can do little to stop these e-mails from getting through the system, and they work to block as many as they can. He said it is important for students to constantly be aware of what to look for.

"You'll never get an e-mail from K-State asking for your password," he said.

Townsend said apart from e-mail, scammers can use account passwords to access eID profiles, iSIS accounts and potentially Social Security numbers.

Along with awareness of e-mail scams, students should log off every time they use university computers. Poage said the technology services on campus suggest logging off and restarting computers each time someone uses them to make sure information is cleared off the computer.

While technology services are doing what they can to prevent malicious emails from entering the system, all three men said students also need to be conscious of what e-mails they are opening and replying to.