If you receive an email from an address you don’t recognize, your first thought should be: is this email legitimate? But know that malicious emails can also come from an address that you do recognize – perhaps their account got hacked and is now being used to spam people. It’s important to be able to recognize a phishing attempt and, most importantly, not be baited.
There’s a good chance an email is a phishing attempt if:
- It asks you for your password or directs you to a web form asking for your password
- If the link within the body of the message points to a non-Carleton email address
- The subject line is in all caps
- There is a call for immediate action – “download this now” or “confirm you email identity now” or “click on the link below”
- There are spelling or grammatical errors in the email
If you receive a phishing email do not respond to it.
Please visit our IT security page for more tips on protecting yourself online.