Suppose you receive an email that seems to be from someone you know, especially someone in a leadership position for an organization to which you belong, instructing you to spend your own money on something. In that case, it’s probably a phishing email.
What to Look For in a Phishing Email:
- Is the sender’s email address correct?
- Does the language sound appropriate for that person?
- Is the topic new or something you have already discussed?
- Is the person asking you to spend your money on something you will be reimbursed for later?
- Are they asking you for sensitive information?
- Do they make it seem urgent?
- Do they tell you it is secret and not to tell anyone else (e.g., to buy gift cards for everyone else in the organization to be given to them as gifts)?
- Do they tell you not to call them?
- Do they ask you to send them the numbers on the gift cards?
What to Do:
- Call the person who the email is supposed to be from to find out if it really is from them
- Have everyone’s email addresses removed from public access (i.e., the organization’s website)
- Immediately contact everyone else in the organization to advise them that they may receive a similar email and that it is a hoax.
- Advise everyone to change their passwords and do the same for access to the organization’s information.
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At Commonwealth Sentinel, we stay focused on cyber security so you can focus on other things.