Fishy emails slip into students’ inboxes

Massey attempts to secure students‘ accounts as suspicious emails make the rounds.  

The university was forced to reset all students’ account passwords in November after a phishing email, that appeared to be from the NHS, redirected students to a fake website and requested their login details.  

The scare had a lasting effect when last month a real survey sent to distance students had them sure they were being scammed again.  

The survey promised entry into a £500 GBP prize draw in exchange for a 5-10 minute questionnaire about their studying experience. 

Students thought this was too good to be true, with a discussion sparked on the Massey@Distance Facebook page. 

One student commented, “most likely a scam, especially when they are showing you the conversion of GBP to NZD. This seems unnecessary considering we are a NZ University.” 

Students suggested Massey shouldn’t use foreign currency in future emails.  

While Massey had tried to stop spam emails and provided tools for spotting them, distance students continue to be heavily at risk. 

Distance students don’t have the luxury of quickly asking a teacher about an email while in class, as video lectures are often tight on time. 

Massey’s website recommended that students keep passwords private and never respond to email requests for your password, even if the email appears to come the university.