This August blog post is dedicated to spotting phishing attempts and how to protect yourself from them.
Check It Out!
If you are not sure how to spot a phishing email there are many ways you can be clued in. First, are there any typos? Phishing scams can be easily spotted because they are plagued with misspelled words or phrases that are misquoted. Another thing phishing scams will do is prey on your fight or flight response. Often the emails will tell you it is a matter of extreme urgency or an offer will only last if you click on it right now. They do this so you don't have time to think if the offer is suspicious or too good to be true. Finally, phishing emails are always trying to get you to do something, such as click on a link or open an attachment. They might also be trying to get personal information from you. Never open a link or attachment you don't know what it contains or where it goes and do not give out personal information.
View the Sender's True Address
Often times phishing scams will try to use an email address or name similar to a person in your organization to make the email seem more reputable. So if you are not expecting to receive an email from someone always check the sender's address. To do this in Outlook follow the steps below:
Click the email in Outlook
Double-click the individual's name in the address bar
A window with the individual's email address and other information will pop up.
If any of the information doesn't match what you know or looks suspicious it is most likely a phishing scam. For more information please check the video below.
Report an Email to Outlook
If an email looks suspect in Outlook one of the best things to do is report it. This helps protect your workplace from this phishing scam. If other people in your organization have received the same email Outlook can remove it from all inboxes before anyone has a chance to click on it. It also helps to improve Outlook's automatic phishing-detecting systems, so in the future, it can intercept any malicious mail. Follow these easy steps to report phishing scams:
Click on the email you need to report
In the top right of your ribbon select the eclipses
Click "Report Message"
In the drop-down menu select "Phishing"
For more information see the image below.
Check Suspicious URL's
Many phishers will attempt to get you to click on a link. This way they can get you to a phony website or attempt to hijack your information. There are a couple of ways to identify whether a link is safe to click on without actually clicking on it. If the email refers to an actual website open a new browser and type in that website and see if the information or "deal" they are offering is accurate. The second way to identify if an email is a phishing scam is to hover over the address without actually clicking it. Many times the full URL is missing from the email because it looks too questionable to click, so they embed it in text or try to shorten it. But if you hover over the email you will see the full length. When in doubt don't click the link, if it seems suspicious it probably is. See the video below for more information.
I hope you have found these tech tips helpful! Please feel free to share these tips out or contact us with questions or comments
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