Spam / Suspicious Emails - what to do and how to report them
SVI has recently experienced an increased influx of unsolicited or suspicious emails.
Students and staff need to be increasingly cautious of such emails, as they aim to steal your electronic identity and use it to compromise your personal information or access your computer system.
Reporting Emails
Windows Computers
Select the suspicious email
Click the Home tab and Report Message
Click Phishing - email will be removed for you and reported to Microsoft for analysis
macOS Computers
Select the suspicious email
At the top of your Outlook window, click Report
Email will be removed for you and reported to Microsoft for analysis
Outlook App on iPhone
Select the suspicious email
At the top of the email, select the breadcrumbs
In the drop down menu, click Report Junk
A menu will open at the bottom of the email, select Phishing
Email will be removed for you and reported to Microsoft for analysis
Information
What to do with suspicious emails
Follow these basic principles when dealing with unsolicited or suspicious email:
If an email looks suspicious, it probably is.
Never reply to suspicious emails
Never forward suspicious emails to others
Never send sensitive, personal, or confidential information via email
Never click links in suspicious emails
Never click or download attachments in suspicious emails
If you're unsure, please contact IT
Never send your password or other sensitive information via email
What does a suspicious email look like?
Recent 'phishing' scam emails have been received by University staff and students with the following subject lines:
'UPGRADE YOUR ACCOUNT NOW'
'VERIFY YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT NOW'
'Verify Your Unimelb Account Now'
'Confirm Your E-mail Address'
'CONFIRM YOUR E-MAIL IMMEDIATELY'
'Confirm Your Webmail Account'
'UPGRADE YOUR WEBMAIL ACCOUNT NOW'
'Dear unimelb.edu.au Email Account Owner'
'Please Verify Your Email Address'
What parts of these emails are suspicious?
Certain characteristics should give you an indication that something isn't quite right:
Phishing emails extensively use the above words in their Subject line
Always be suspicious of emails asking to 'verify' or 'upgrade' your account
Using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is frowned upon - it's an indicator that the email may not be legitimate
A threatening tone - phishing emails often give you an ultimatum: 'verify your account or permanently lose it'