If you’re reading this, you may have spotted September’s phishing test email! As always, you should report any other suspicious or questionable email with the Phish Alert Button (PAB) or forward it to reportaphish@udel.edu. Even if you click on a phishing link, always report the message. When it’s a UD challenge, we increase our reporting rate and gain greater understanding of our community’s awareness about phishing. When it’s a real phish, we can help reduce or prevent the consequences to you and the UD community.
This email was sent as part of the Secure UD “Take a BITE out of phish!” campaign, a University initiative to raise our community’s awareness about phishing attacks, their consequences, and how to avoid becoming a victim. Each month, a random sample of employees will receive a harmless test phish like this one:
- Always examine the sender’s email address. If the “from” address is unfamiliar, take a few extra moments to examine the contents of the email. The email address may be incorrect, misspelled, or have a different domain name than the company.
- Watch out for email spoofing! Emails can be faked to look like they’re from your manager or other trusted people. If an email seems suspicious or asks for unusual actions, always confirm its legitimacy by contacting the sender through a known, secure channel (like an internal chat, a verified phone number, or a separate, new email chain).
- Don’t click links within a suspicious email. Hyperlinks that appear legitimate can be disguised links to a criminal or malicious website. When in doubt, hover your mouse over the hyperlink’s text (you should see the full URL, which will help show whether it leads to a legitimate website). Or better yet, open a browser window and manually type the URL yourself to prevent it from being redirected. To inspect a link when using a mobile device, you can tap and hold the link to see the actual URL.
For more information, visit: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams