’Tis the season: Email safety and cybersecurity
The holiday season represents one of the highest-risk periods of the year for cybersecurity, and new AI-generated attacks can be expected. With the increase in online shopping and package tracking, attackers are actively disguising malicious links as shipping notifications and invoices.
Your diligence remains our first and strongest line of defense. Taking a moment to verify a sender or an unusual request can prevent a major security incident for our community.
Email Safety Do’s: Verify and Protect
- Do hover your mouse over the sender’s name/address to see the full, actual email address. Watch for subtle misspellings (e.g. acme.co instead of acme.com).
- Do inspect links before clicking. Hover your mouse over the link to see the destination URL displayed, usually in the corner of your browser. If it looks suspicious, don’t click.
- Do verify any unexpected or urgent requests for confidential data, password changes or fund transfers by using a different method of communication (e.g., call the sender on a known phone number or message them on an internal chat system).
- Do treat any email requesting your password or sensitive personal/company information with maximum suspicion.
- Do report all suspicious emails immediately by using the “Report Phishing” button in the three-dot stack menu within the email, or contact servicedesk@georgefox.edu.
- Do check the time and tone of the email. Is it demanding, overly urgent or coming at a strange hour? This is a common tactic used by scammers.
Email Safety Don’ts: Avoid Risk and Reactivity
- Don’t click on links or download attachments from senders you do not recognize or from emails that seem “off,” even if they appear to come from a known colleague.
- Don’t reply to an email asking for sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers or internal account details.
- Don’t assume an email is legitimate just because it uses company logos or appears to come from an executive (CEO, CFO, etc.). This is known as “spoofing.”
- Don’t be pressured by threats or urgency (e.g. “Your account will be suspended in five minutes!”). Scammers use fear to make you act without thinking.
- Don’t forward suspicious emails without first checking with servicedesk@georgefox.edu. We need to be able to investigate and take action.
Thank you for your partnership in keeping our community secure. Your vigilance makes all the difference.