Please be attentive and careful if you receive an e-mail from your professor. It could be a fake. Fraudsters have apparently searched the website for the names, titles and addresses of university staff and are now sending emails that appear to come from their superiors. The harmless-looking messages initially ask for a short favour, for example:

If you have a minute, could you please drop an email.

The sender is set to the real name. An external email provider such as gmail.com is used as the sender address. The emails are circulated in German and English.

Those who do not immediately notice the forgery and respond to it are asked to buy gift cards and send the code under a pretext:

Hi [name],
Thanks for the response, I need to send Google play gift cards to some prospects but I can't do that right now because I'm currently busy in the Hospital checking on a friend, he's critically ill. Let me know if its possible to get them right now, so I can tell you the amount needed on each cards. I'll reimburse you.

Once used, codes for gift cards (for example for Google Play, Amazon or iTunes) cannot be recalled, the money is irretrievably lost. Criminal charges for fraud are practically always unsuccessful.

Be vigilant when reading your emails. You should be particularly suspicious if you notice any of the following:

• The sender is not using the usual sender address or
• the address doesn't match the sender,
   
• the grammar or spelling is unusually poor,
• they are trying to put you under pressure (exceptionally urgent or important),
• they include an attachment or a link.

If you are unsure about a message, ask and play it safe!

• Call the supposed sender or
• write directly to a known email address.
• You can also contact the IT Service Desk (see below).