Criminals are constantly coming up with new ways to compromise computers, steal passwords, trick people into reviewing valuable information, or scam you out of money. It is very difficult to know if someone on the internet is telling the truth. Scams and phishing attempts can lead to identity theft, compromising your online accounts or enabling access to your personal information.
Here are some indicators of Scam or Phishing Attempts
Scams or phishing attempts commonly use email, websites, or even the telephone to trick people into revealing information. Here are some key indicators that can help you identify a scam or phishing attempt:
- You are being asked to provided personal information such as your password, social security number, financial information, or money
- You received an expected/unsolicited email with a link or attachment
- If the person is using threats stressing that if you don't act quickly something bad will happen. For example, the IRS calls asking for money. They threaten you with jail time if you don't pay immediately
- If the emails/call doesn't address you specifically by name
- The sender isn't specified, isn't someone you know, or doesn't match the from address
- If the email has spelling or grammatical error
- It has links/attachment to view an unexpected e-card or track an unknown packaged.
The DECS Support office is available to assist you with any questions on identifying spam, scam messages or phishing attempts. If you have any questions, please contact the DECS Support office at support@egr.msu.edu. You can find more tips on how to recognize phishing on the How to Recognize a Phishing Email page.
