For SBTS + Boyce College Students and Employees
You open an email, and something about the email causes you to pause. Maybe it’s asking you to open a Google Doc, but the email doesn’t look exactly a normal Google Doc sharing email. Maybe the email is offering an internship opportunity that seems really appealing, but the sending email address shows a professor’s name with an email address ending in @yahoo.com. You’ve likely seen a phishing attempt and have hopefully learned to be suspicious of any email coming from someone you do not know or that you are not expecting. While you may know how to avoid the trap, what should you do next? This guide walks through how to report the phishing attempt with a tool built right into your @students.sbts.edu Gmail inbox.
Why should I report phishing emails
While deleting the email and moving on is better than replying to the sender or clicking on the link in the phishing email, reporting the email helps Google’s systems to learn and recognize similar phishing attempts in the future – both for you and for everyone else on campus. Campus Technology is also notified when users report phishing attempts and can potentially identify and take action on the same phishing attempt that may have targeted a large number of students or employees. Reporting a phishing email does not take long, and once you’ve reported one, you will start to build the habit of reporting other phishing attempts when they occur.
How to report a phishing email within Gmail
To guide you through the process, we have provided both an embedded walkthrough that you can step through as well as a screencast that walks through the process. If you need any further assistance, please email campustechnology@sbts.edu.
IMAGE CREDIT: Photo by Gaspar Zaldo on Unsplash