HOW TO: Spot a Phishing Attempt

Phishing Definition:

The fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. In other words, they are a third party pretending to be someone you know to steal personal information from you!

Here are 5 tips to help you avoid being phished.

Tip 1 - Hover, don’t click on links in emails

Rather, point your mouse at them and hover over the link. When you hover over a link the link name should map the link location that shows up in your client. If the link doesn’t match its destination, this is a tell tale sign of a phishing attempt.

Tip 2 - The message contains poor spelling and grammar

Whenever Western or a large company sends out a message on behalf of the company as a whole, the message is usually reviewed for spelling, grammar, and legitimacy, among other things. So if a message is filled with poor grammar or spelling mistakes, it probably didn’t come from Western or a major corporation.

Tip 3 - The message asks for personal information

No matter how official an email message might look, it’s always a bad sign if the message asks for personal information. Your bank doesn’t need you to send it your account number. It already knows what that is. Similarly, neither Western or Schulich would ever send an email asking for your password or the answer to a security question.

Tip 4 - Check a known legitimate website

If your bank or credit card company is sending you an email regarding a fraud alert, you would expect to see that same fraud alert on your bank or credit card company’s legitimate website. The same is true of emails sent out by Western University. If you’re at all uncertain, call the phone number on the back of your credit card, bank or the Schulich helpdesk.

Tip 5 - When in doubt, throw it out

The best defense against phishing scams is to assume the email is untrustworthy and to pursue direct channels to businesses that you trust, such as your bank’s 1-800 number or the direct line to Schulich helpdesk.

Important:

For more information email helpdesk@schulich.uwo.ca

To report a phishing attempt, please email the Schulich Privacy Officer privacy@schulich.uwo.ca

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