The incident needs to be logged and tracked in the abuse database. Including correspondence in the Postmaster Comments field will be helpful in tracking progress and outcomes regarding an incident.

When we are working with individuals who believe others are tampering with their accounts, there are likely to be nuances in each case that require an alternate approach. We can use the following points to guide our actions.

A member of the University community does not need to file a subpoena to request information about log-ins to his/her own account when abuse is suspected.

See http://www.virginia.edu/abuse/info.html
for general information about who can request information about *another* person's account and under what circumstances.

When we receive a report of possible identity theft:

1. Log the incident in the abuseVirus database. Categorize as "identity theft".
2. We need to know specific dates and times of suspected activity to gather the right logs. If this information is not provided, please request it.
3. Send the request to vassist@virginia.edu with the specific date/time info. Dan, or whomever is covering vassist, will produce the logs and examine them for possible tampering.
4. Proceed with guidelines in next two sections.

We should do what is within reason to investigate the suspected account tampering. Sometimes we'll have to say no.

For example, last semester an individual made repeated requests for investigations. None that we conducted for this person showed evidence of tampering, so we drew the line on further requests.

Students
If the request is coming from a student, we need to consult with Lori Willy (Dean of Students Office) to see what involvement she wants to have. The request may be related to a larger issue the Dean of Students Office is already dealing with.

Contact information for Lori Willy:

Phone: 924-4246
Email: lac6a@Virginia.EDU

General
If our investigation shows evidence the account in question has been tampered with, either Shirley or Brian should be given a heads up BEFORE a report is sent back to the individual who made the request. The advice the individual receives from us concerning next steps will vary with the circumstance. Also, there may be the need to inform others of our investigation results, and who those people are will vary. Brian and Shirley can help on both these points.

Contact information for Shirley Payne:

Phone: 924-4165
Email: scp8b@Virginia.EDU or
itc-policy@virginia.edu (for policy issues)

Contact information for Brian Davis:

Phone: 243-8707
Email: bd2m@Virginia.EDU