How to spot a fake email

Here is an example of a fake email:

Noticing a fake email can be reduced to roughly three questions:

• Is this email asking for a password or my login?
• Did a link in my email lead me to a login page?
• Is this email asking for money or financial information?

If the answer to any of these is YES, there's a significant chance you're being phished.  If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it without using the links in email:

• Close your email and open a new browser window. Then navigate directly to the bank, online service, or website and login from there.
• Contact the company or person by phone – using information from another source (an account statement, the company’s official website, or the phone directory).

We continue to get fake emails and they continue to get more and more tricky.  Here are some reminders and a quiz.

1. If an email is in your SPAM or JUNK folder, consider it fake.  Our filters put it there.
2. If an email is in your INBOX, but you suspect it to be fake then it probably is.  There are several clues (we are all getting familiar with the signs) and you can test your knowledge with the quiz below.
3. If you find a fake email in your INBOX, you do not need to do anything.  Feel free to ignore it.  However, if you want to help:
   1. Mark the email as JUNK, PHISH, or SPAM using the buttons in your email program.
   2. Send a screenshot of the email to it.helpdesk@skagit.edu, just so the IT Helpdesk knows about it.
4. If you got bamboozled by a fake email (clicked on a malicious link or gave away information) contact the IT Helpdesk (it.helpdesk@skagit.edu or call 416-7766).
5. If you are worried that someone is sending emails from your account, look in your SENT folder.  If there are messages in your SENT folder that you did not send, change your password immediately and call the IT Helpdesk.
6. If you need to check if an email is fake or not, call the sender to get clarification.

If you clicked on a malicious link or gave away information, contact it.helpdesk@skagit.edu or call 416-7766.  We will help you get back to work quickly.

Test yourself with this quiz: •  Visit https://www.opendns.com/phishing-quiz/

Or this one: https://phishingquiz.withgoogle.com

Five ways to spot a phishing email: •   https://staysafeonline.org/blog/5-ways-spot-phishing-emails/