Email is one of our most important forms of communication. For this reason, criminals try to use emails to steal sensitive information, commit fraud, and damage computers. Usually criminals take advantage of the fact that potential victims can’t see them to pretend to be coworkers, friends, banks, government departments, etc. and deceive their victims into doing thing they should not do.

One popular deceptive technique used by hackers today involves them posing as a company employee and sending emails to other employees requesting them to open malicious links and attachments. For this trick, the hackers don’t necessarily need to compromise a legitimate company email account; instead, they use other email accounts under their control and change the name and email address tags on the messages to legitimate email addresses and names, thus confusing the recipients.

Recommendations:

• If you receive an email or chat message that asks you to open an attachment or click on a link that appears suspicious or unsolicited, verify the message’s legitimacy by contacting the sender through an alternate method of communication.
• If you suspect that your computer is infected, please report it to the Help Desk.
• Be wary of emails in which:

Someone tries to create a tremendous sense of urgency.

The sender’s email address appears unusual.