Kao Wei-yuan, president of National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, has recently become a high-profile figure amid controversy, and now a scam ring has sent emails in his name — a new risk for the faculty and students receiving them.

• Recipients have received emails signed "NTHU President Kao Wei-yuan," stressing "important matters" and "time is short," and asking them to add a LINE contact as soon as possible.
• The sender is in fact an unidentified Gmail account, and the LINE ID in the message is the scammer's contact.
• NTHU associate professor Huang Chen-hsiang made the email public to warn people not to fall for it, only to be accused by netizens of "leaking the president's personal information."
• The tactic is to use the title of "president" to create a sense of authority and urgency, leaving recipients no time to think.
• Kao drew controversy for travelling to the United States to look for work on the third day of his renewed term, and the resulting jump in his public profile is what put him on the scam ring's radar.

Outlook: Scam emails impersonating figures in the news will only become more common, and any message urging you to add a LINE contact should be treated as fraud.