When criminals go phishing, you don’t have to take the bait.
See it, so you don’t click it.
Phishing is when criminals use emails to lure you into clicking on malicious content and handing over your personal information or installing malware on your device. It’s easy to avoid a scam email once you know what to look for.
Here are some quick tips on how to clearly spot a phishing email:
- Contains an offer that’s too good to be true
- Language that’s urgent, alarming, or threatening
- Poorly-crafted writing with misspellings and bad grammar
- Greetings that are ambiguous or very generic
- Requests to send personal information
- Urgency to click on an unfamiliar hyperlinks or attachment
- Sending e-mail address doesn’t match the company it’s coming from
Oh no! I see a phishing email. What do I do?
Don’t worry, you’ve already done the hard part which is recognizing that an email is fake and part of a criminal’s phishing expedition.
If you’re at the office and the email came to your work email address, report it to your IT manager or contact 6-TECH.
If you’re at home and the email came to your personal email address, do not click on any links (even the unsubscribe link) and don’t reply to it. JUST DELETE IT. You can take your protection a step further and block the sending address.
For example, you can block an email on Gmail.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month Wrap-up
Throughout October, Information Technology Services (ITS) has shared tips on four basic cybersecurity behaviors that you can practice to take control of your online life, whether at work, home, or school:
- Use multi-factor authentication
- Use strong passwords and a password manager
- Update your software
- Recognize and report phishing
See these posts on ITS Technology News’ Cyber Security Tips and social media (Twitter and Facebook) to learn more about how you can stay safe online.
