Protection against Spam and Phishing Guide

Protection against Spam and Phishing

Guide

In the following guide we will discuss what spam and phishing are, how we can identify and report them.

Understanding the terms:

Spam refers to unsolicited emails, often sent in bulk, that clutter your inbox. While some spam emails are merely annoying advertisements, others can be dangerous, containing malicious links or attachments.

Phishing is a type of cyber-attack where scammers impersonate legitimate organizations to steal sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details. These attacks often come in the form of emails or text messages that appear to be from trusted sources.

Spear Phishing is a more targeted form of phishing. Unlike regular phishing, which is sent to many people, spear phishing is aimed at specific individuals or organizations. Attackers often gather personal information about their targets to craft convincing and personalized messages.

Brand spoofing is when a sender pretends to be from a company or organization you trust, and they use this brand recognition to trick you into giving up your sensitive information.

Dangers:

Identity Theft: Phishing and spear phishing emails can trick you into revealing personal information, which can be used to steal your identity.

Financial Loss: Scammers can use your financial information to make unauthorized transactions.

Malware Infection: Clicking on links or downloading attachments from spam, phishing, or spear phishing emails can install malware on your device, compromising your security.

Data Breaches: For businesses, a single compromised email account can lead to widespread data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage

How to Recognize Spam and Phishing Emails

Suspicious Sender: Check the sender's email address for inconsistencies or misspellings. Very often the sender’s address and @domain will usually be slightly different, and even misspelled, trying to pass as the genuine thing.

Generic Greetings: Be cautious of emails that don't address you by name.

Urgent or Threatening Language: Scammers often create a sense of urgency to prompt immediate action.

Unfamiliar Links or Attachments: Hover over links to see where they lead before clicking and avoid opening unexpected attachments.

Too Good to Be True Offers: Be skeptical of offers that seem overly generous or unrealistic

Very often phishing emails will be poorly written and contain grammar or spelling mistakes in the text of the email.

Examples:

Spear phishing mail: the sender's address's domain is misspelled with a 0 , Picture

In the above example we can see that in the sender’s address the domain is misspelled with a 0 instead of a lowercase o.

A screenshot of a computer Description automatically generated, Picture

In the above example the sender address has a generic domain, two spelling mistakes and uses the Mailchimp logo for brand spoofing.
Reporting Spam, Phishing, and Spear Phishing in Outlook

Classic Outlook

Report Junk Email:

Select the email you want to report.

On the Home tab, click Report Message and choose Junk. This moves the email to your Junk Email folder

Report Phishing Email:

Select the email you want to report.

On the Home tab, click Report Message and choose Phishing. This deletes the email and reports it to Microsoft

New Outlook

Report Junk Email:

Select the email you want to report.

Click the Report button in the toolbar and choose Report junk. This moves the email to your Junk Email folder

Report Phishing Email:

Select the email you want to report.

Click the Report button in the toolbar and choose Report phishing. This deletes the email and reports it to Microsoft

By following these steps, you can help protect yourself, our colleagues and the company from the dangers of spam and phishing. Stay vigilant and always verify the authenticity of emails before taking any action, if you’re unsure if the email is malicious, please reach out to IT and we’ll investigate and take appropriate action.