Email with a Subject of "Financial aids 2013/2014" is a scam.  This message, like others that tell you to "upgrade," "verify," "validate," or "re-validate" your mailbox or your email account, or increase your quota, is a phishing scam -- an attempt to steal your UVM credentials (your Net-ID and password).   Please do not click on the link in the message, and don't reply to it; simply delete the email.  

Legitimate e-mail communications regarding the status of financial aid awards will  appear as From: "UVM Student Financial Services" with an originating e-mail address of either sfs@uvm.edu or sfs.notify@uvm.edu -- but don't rely exclusively on the From address; address forgery is common.  The content of valid UVM email messages will never request that a student divulge log-in credentials, but will typically include instructions for the recipient to gain secure access to his/her personal information through the UVM student portal or other relevant pathways.  If you have any concerns regarding the legitimacy of a message you receive regarding UVM financial aid, please feel free to call Student Financial Services at 802-656-5700 to express your concern and to determine if the message is authentic.

Any email that asks you to to enter your UVM password on a non-UVM web site is a phishing scam. Do  not click links in such messages and do not reply.  Hover your cursor over links to see where they would take you; if it's not going to "http://www.uvm.edu/" or "http://uvm.edu/", don't click.  If you go to a site and the address bar in your web browser doesn't show it's a uvm.edu site, quit or exit your browser.  UVM will never ask you to enter your UVM Net-ID and password on a non-UVM web page -- even if it looks like a UVM page, and even if it's on a reputable site, such as Google Docs, 123contactform.com or contactme.com, or if it contains UVM graphics and you've been directed there by an email that appears to come from a UVM email address.

What to do if you've clicked on the link

If you've followed the link in the message, or replied to this email or one like it, you should change your password immediately at www.uvm.edu/account. Contact the UVM Computing Helpline if you need assistance changing your password.

For more information about phishing scams, view our Web page on protecting your NetID and password. 

If you are ever uncertain about the legitimacy of an email message concerning your uvm.edu account, please contact the Computing Help Line at 656-2604, or submit a help request online.

If you would like to report phishing, please forward the phishing email, as an attachment, to is-spam@labs.sophos.com and to abuse@uvm.edu. (To forward a message as an attachment using Thunderbird, go to the Message menu and select Forward As > Attachment.)

The "Financial aids 2013/2014" Phishing Scam

The link in this message would take you to a malicious non-UVM site where a form would capture your Net-ID and password or other high-risk information.