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Phishing - Don’t Take the "Bait" - Don’t become Phish Bait!
What's phishing?
Phishing is the practice of luring you into disclosing personal information, such as your Blackhawk Technical College account login and password. Many scammers try to bait you by urging you to open an attachment or to respond immediately by clicking a web link that appears official (with all the familiar logos or corporate phrases) that actually opens to a fake website. Often phishing messages look legitimate but have deceptive links, even if the request looks genuine, be skeptical and look for the warning signs shown below.
What's Junk email?
Junk email messages are typically referred to as spam. These are messages that you don't want to receive that may be advertising products you don't use or find offensive. If you choose the Junk option, a copy of the message may be sent to Microsoft to help update our spam filters, and the message will be moved from your Inbox to your Junk Email folder.
Here are some quick tips on how to clearly spot a phishing email:
- Does it contain an offer that’s too good to be true?
- Does it include language that’s urgent, alarming, or threatening?
- Is it poorly crafted writing riddled with misspellings and bad grammar?
- Is the greeting ambiguous or very generic?
- Does it include requests to send personal information?
- Does it stress an urgency to click on unfamiliar hyperlinks or attachments?
- Is it a strange or abrupt business request?
- Does the sender’s e-mail address match the company it’s coming from?
Please be cautious and note the phishing red flags in the sample e-mails & text message below:
You can use the "Report Message" button in Outlook to report these as phishing which will remove it from your inbox.
*If you clicked on the link, please update your password by going to myaccount.microsoft.com and use the update password tool or browse to the ITS web page under Student Resources on the Blackhawk.edu website Information Technology Services (blackhawk.edu) and scroll to the Reset Password button) or contact the ITS Help Desk at 608 757-7711 https://helpdesk.blackhawk.edu/kb/article/65-connect-with-the-its-help-desk/
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In the Outlook message list, select the message or messages you want to report.
From the ribbon menu, select "Report" arrow and choose "Report phishing" or "Report junk" to report the message sender. |
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Or from the opened Outlook message:
From the ribbon menu, select "Report" arrow and choose "Report phishing" to report the message sender. |
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Smishing is defined as the fraudulent practice of sending text messages.
Blocking spam texts on iPhones First, open Settings. Scroll down until you find Messages. Tap it. Next, scroll down until you find "Filter Unknown Messages." Turn it on. You’re done. iOS users can also block persistent senders by using the "Block this Caller" function by pressing on the sending address at the top of the message and then “info” icon. The option to “Block this Caller” is located at the bottom.
Blocking spam Texts on Android phones Go to the Messaging app and tap the three dots icon in the upper right-hand of the screen or tap on your icon. Tap on “Settings,” or Message’s setting and then tap on “Spam Protection.” Scroll down until you find “Enable Spam Protection.” Turn it on by swiping the button to the right. ______________________________________
Don’t respond to unwanted/suspicious texts. (Not even to say STOP).
It’s also a good idea to update your phone to the latest operating system.
Most of the operating system upgrades for smartphones include security improvements. ______________________________________ |
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From the Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Advice
How To Report Phishing
If you got a phishing email or text message, report it. The information you give helps fight scammers.
- If you got a phishing email, forward it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at [email protected].
- If you got a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726).
- Report the phishing attempt to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams
