Identifying fraudulent email messages
We are continually being sent fraudulent email messages trying to dupe recipients into handing over personal information including username and password details. While antivirus and antispam measures at the perimeter of the College stop about half of all the email sent to the College, some spam does get through, and some of this is fraudulent. There are four simple steps to assist in identifying whether you should be suspicious of a message received at Birkbeck:
- Does the message ask for your username and password details? If so, it is fraudulent.
- Is the message anonymous? Any legitimate message should have a person's name and contact details.
- Does the message contain terms or language that you do not associate with Birkbeck? If so, be suspicious.
- If you click on "reply", is the reply-to address a Birkbeck one? Or if the message contains embedded web links, are these on Birkbeck servers (float over the link without clicking on it to see what web address is associated with the link).
and a fifth, less simple step, to be sure:
5. Check the email headers to see where the message originated.
Fraudulent messages are becoming much cleverer, and are frequently now targeted at organisations or individuals, so it is important to be vigilant, and if in doubt, please contact the ITS helpdesk.
More details on what to look for are available in ITS news articles from June 2008, and November 2008.