It is the time of year where universities commonly see an increase in ‘spam’ emails and the focus tends to be on signing up for unofficial Yearbook services.
What is the scam?
As final year students are coming to the end of their studies, a common yearbook scam is being seen. This scam has been around for years and has been through several iterations.
The email sent by my-yearbook.co.uk invites the user to be included in the yearbook and requests that they click on a link, which then directs them to a website where the user needs to complete a form. This form asks for a considerable amount for personal information including:
• name
• mobile phone number
• personal and university email address
• profile Picture
• degree achieved.
The form will usually ask for a payment and/or bank details.
These scams are not affiliated with the University of Sussex in any way and we do not share your personal details or email addresses with them.
What is Sussex doing to prevent these emails reaching me?
Sussex has systems in place to detect and identify spam emails. This helps to prevent many of these types of emails from reaching your inbox. However, it is not possible to catch them all.
If the system believes the message to be spam you may receive an email notification to alert you that the message has been held for you to review it and either release it (if it is a genuine email you wish to receive) or reject it.
For messages that are rejected, we monitor the quantities of messages identified and reported and are able to block the sender if it is clearly a phishing attempt.
What do I do if I receive the scam email?
Please reject the email if you receive the notification.
If you have responded to the email, please report this to IT Services by forwarding the email to itservicedesk@sussex.ac.uk or by logging a ticket on https://sussex.ac.uk/its/helpdesk
Please remain vigilant online and be careful when you are sharing information.
Is there an official Sussex yearbook?
The University of Sussex produces an official yearbook, in partnership with a company called GradFinale.
Eligible students have free access to the digital version of your yearbook and can purchase a print copy if desired.
Final year students will receive emails from alumni@sussex.ac.uk with details of how to register for your official University of Sussex yearbook.
To find out more about the University of Sussex official yearbook please visit the graduation web pages.