Re: Facebook "[Your Institution] Class of 2023" and "[Your Institution] Class of 2023 - Parents" Groups

["Giacobe, Nick" <nxg13 () PSU EDU>]

What is MORE disturbing than the Parents groups are the “Student” groups. Looks like a company following the same 
methodology, but anchored to a different master account/page.

The Penn State group has ~8500 people registered to it.  Students are freely sharing their contact info – snapchat, 
Instagram, etc. Kinda creepy if you don’t know who is doing what with the data they may or may not be collecting.

Some accounts on there are obviously fake…. Almost catfish like.

Similar behavior as to the parents group with the logo items – t-shirts, etc. The company it ties back to is 
http://universitysupplies.co/ -- at least that’s where the ads for the t-shirts, etc are coming from.

I’m thinking they’re growing the groups with natural members, then killing them off, and selling the group with 
thousands of followers to the highest bidder.

---
Nicklaus A. Giacobe, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Programs and Assistant Teaching Professor
Phone: 814-865-8233
College of Information Sciences and Technology
Penn State University
E333 Westgate Building
University Park, PA 16802

From: The EDUCAUSE Security Community Group Listserv <SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU> On Behalf Of Cleary, Kevin
Sent: Wednesday, July 3, 2019 9:12 AM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: Re: [SECURITY] Facebook "[Your Institution] Class of 2023" and "[Your Institution] Class of 2023 - Parents" 
Groups

Thank you all for this discovery and follow up.

I’ve forwarded this on to our communications and trademarks group for analysis and next steps.  This may be new enough 
that many of us are trying to determine next steps (if any).  I’m curious, has anyone considered issuing (formal or 
informal) cease and desist letters?  Our name is considered trademarked property.

--
Kevin Cleary
Manager, Systems Software
CIT Enterprise Infrastructure Services
University at Buffalo
305 Computing Center
Buffalo NY 14260-1407
Phone:  716-645-4767

From: The EDUCAUSE Security Community Group Listserv <SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV 
EDUCAUSE EDU>> On Behalf Of Burns, Denis
Sent: Tuesday, July 2, 2019 9:28 AM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
Subject: Re: [SECURITY] Facebook "[Your Institution] Class of 2023" and "[Your Institution] Class of 2023 - Parents" 
Groups

Hello Nickalaus, et al,

This is an interesting one.  We had not heard of it before, but we similarly have a significant number of parents who 
appear to have joined.  I am curious if anyone has made an announcement to their student/parent base, and what they 
communicated.

For those who are curious, it appears that three FB accounts are responsible for creating the groups (Mary Vitug, 
Dominica Grigoryeva, College Parents) which currently consist of these 163(ish) institutions:

UMass Lowell Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Stony Brook University Class of 2023 - Parents
Hofstra University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
University at Buffalo Class of 2023 - Parents
UCLA Class of 2023 - Parents
FAU Class of 2023 - Parents
Ithaca College Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Montclair State University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Virginia Tech Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Pennsylvania Class of 2023 - Parents
LSU Class of 2023 - Parents
West Chester University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
University of Tampa Class of 2023 - Parents
Kent State University Class of 2023 - Parents
Rice University Class of 2023 - Parents
VCU Class of 2023 - Parents
UCSB Class of 2023 - Parents
West Virginia University (WVU) Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Pittsburgh Class of 2023 - Parents
TCNJ Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Chicago Class of 2023 - Parents
NC State Class of 2023 - Parents
Emory University Class of 2023 - Parents
UC Berkeley Class of 2023 - Parents
Coastal Carolina University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2023 - Parents
LUC Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Maryland Class of 2023 - Parents
Kennesaw State University Class of 2023 - Parents
University of South Carolina Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Rochester Class of 2023 - Parents
UC Santa Cruz Class of 2023 - Parents
SDSU Class of 2023 - Parents
USF Class of 2023 - Parents
App State Class of 2023 - Parents
Clemson University Class of 2023 - Parents
DePaul University Class of 2023 - Parents
UC Riverside Class of 2023 - Parents
St. Johns University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
University of Virginia Class of 2023 - Parents
FGCU Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Oklahoma Class of 2023 - Parents
Cal Poly Pomona Class of 2023 - Parents
UW Whitewater Class of 2023 - Parents
Michigan State University Class of 2023 - Parents
Oregon State Class of 2023 - Parents
Fordham University Class of 2023 - Parents
College of Charleston Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
SUNY Albany Class of 2023 - Parents
CWRU Class of 2023 - Parents
Temple University Class of 2023 - Parents
Towson University Class of 2023 - Parents
USC Class of 2023 - Parents
SUNY Cortland Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
WUSTL Class of 2023 - Parents
Colorado State University Class of 2023 - Parents
UW-La Crosse Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
UC Davis Class of 2023 - Parents
Cornell University Class of 2023 - Parents
UIUC Class of 2023 - Parents
Indiana University Class of 2023 - Parents
Notre Dame Class of 2023 - Parents
Illinois State University Class of 2023 - Parents
Brown University Class of 2023 - Parents
East Carolina University Class of 2023 - Parents
GWU Class of 2023 - Parents
Georgetown University Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Houston Class of 2023 - Parents
Chapman University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
UNCW Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Saint Louis University Class of 2023 - Parents
Brandeis University Class of 2023 - Parents
UCF Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Cincinnati Class of 2023 - Parents
Chico State Class of 2023 - Parents
UCSD Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Arizona Class of 2023 - Parents
Penn State University Class of 2023 - Parents
CSULB Class of 2023 - Parents
BGSU Class of 2023 - Parents
University of San Francisco Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Miami Class of 2023 - Parents
RIT Class of 2023 - Parents
CSUF Class of 2023 - Parents
Monmouth University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Ohio State University Class of 2023 - Parents
University of San Diego Class of 2023 - Parents
Purdue University Class of 2023 - Parents
Texas Christian University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
University of Dayton Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Winona State University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
UNC Chapel Hill Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Georgia Class of 2023 - Parents
GVSU Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
UW-Milwaukee Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Fairfield University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
American University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Rowan University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Vanderbilt University Class of 2023 - Parents
SJSU Class of 2023 - Parents
South Dakota State Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Wake Forest University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
MNSU Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
Stockton University Class of 2023 - Parents and Families
UNF Class of 2023 - Parents
Drexel University Class of 2023 - Parents
College of William & Mary Class of 2023 - Parents
Pace University Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Vermont Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Washington Class of 2023 - Parents
UW Madison Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Tennessee (UTK) Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Toledo Class of 2023 - Parents
UCI Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Texas at Austin Class of 2023 - Parents
Texas A&M University Class of 2023 - Parents
Syracuse University Class of 2023 - Parents
SUNY Geneseo Class of 2023 - Parents
Suffolk University Class of 2023 - Parents
UMass Amherst Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Alabama Class of 2023 - Parents
SFSU Class of 2023 - Parents
Santa Clara University Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Rhode Island Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Oregon Class of 2023 - Parents
University of New Hampshire Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Nebraska Lincoln Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Minnesota Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Michigan Class of 2023 - Parents
UMass Boston Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Maine Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Kentucky Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Kansas Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Iowa Class of 2023 - Parents
UF Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Hartford Class of 2023 - Parents
CU Boulder Class of 2023 - Parents
UConn Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Delaware Class of 2023 - Parents
University of Denver Class of 2023 - Parents
CSUN Class of 2023 - Parents
Cal Poly SLO Class of 2023 - Parents
Elon University Class of 2023 - Parents
Duke university Class of 2023 - Parents
FSU Class of 2023 - Parents
Florida International University Class of 2023 - Parents
Rutgers university Class of 2023 - Parents
Boston University Class of 2023 - Parents
Boston College Class of 2023 - Parents
Binghamton University Class of 2023 - Parents
Baylor University Class of 2023 - Parents
Auburn University Class of 2023 - Parents
ASU Class of 2023 - Parents
Quinnipiac University Class of 2023 - Parents
Ole Miss Class of 2023 - Parents
Ohio University Class of 2023 - Parents
Northeastern University Class of 2023 - Parents
NYU Class of 2023 - Parents
Mizzou Class of 2023 - Parents
Miami University Class of 2023 - Parents
JMU Class of 2023 - Parents
Iowa State University Class of 2023 - Parents
IUP Class of 2023 - Parents
George Mason University Class of 2023 - Parents

-d


Denis Burns Information Security and Privacy Officer - College of Medicine - Florida State University
(850) 644-3648 – denis.burns () med fsu edu<mailto:denis.burns () med fsu edu>  *** Be a cyberhero! Build a safe 
cyberspace at Florida State. ***

From: The EDUCAUSE Security Community Group Listserv <SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV 
EDUCAUSE EDU>> On Behalf Of Giacobe, Nick
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2019 4:27 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
Subject: [SECURITY] Facebook "[Your Institution] Class of 2023" and "[Your Institution] Class of 2023 - Parents" Groups

[Notice: This email originated outside of the College of Medicine.]
________________________________
Has anyone else encountered Facebook Groups set up by “College Parents” https://www.facebook.com/collegeparentspage ?

[cid:image001.jpg@01D531B2.6366F850]
[cid:image002.jpg@01D531B2.6366F850]

We’ve seen them set up pages for the students and the parents (or parents/families or other variations) with the 
graduation year. They seem to be some kind of screen printing vendor hocking non-licensed goods, and they’re trying to 
build a group then leverage/monetize it at a later point.

If you have seen them … I’m wondering what you’ve done about them?
---
Nicklaus A. Giacobe, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Programs and Assistant Teaching Professor
Phone: 814-865-8233
College of Information Sciences and Technology
Penn State University
E333 Westgate Building
University Park, PA 16802