What is Phishing and How to Avoid It.

As phishing attempts become more sophisticated, we want you to know what to look for and how to react if/when you receive a phishing message in your inbox. Below are some examples of real phishing emails that people have received recently. 

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In this example, someone sent a message saying they wanted to share a document. The phishing attempt is legitimized with an email signature that looks real and includes Lenovo's logo. Watch out for any emails that ask for you to open/download a document and double check with the source BEFORE proceeding.

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In this example the phishing attempt is done by pretending to be delivering an important message from Microsoft. If you get any emails originating from that look to be originating from a legitimate company you do business with and that ask you to click a link or give login credentials to resolve an issue, you should always double check with the source BEFORE proceeding.

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What is Phishing?

Phishing is an attempt, by criminals who pose as a legitimate source, to lure individuals into providing sensitive information. These criminals target individuals by email, telephone, or text message in hopes of gathering personally identifiable information, such as banking and credit card details and passwords. These attempts come in many different forms with attackers masquerading as a trusted entity of some kind, often a real or plausibly real person, or a company the victim might do business with. Messages will try to trick victims into clicking a link that asks for login credentials or downloading an attachment that installs malware onto the victim's device. 

"Phishy" indicators that a message could be Phishing

If a message...

• asks you to click a link to download or view a file.

• looks to be originating from a  company or organization you normally do business with and is asking you to resolve an issue by clicking a link

• asks you to provide your login credentials in any capacity

• has a link that asks you to enter any banking information even if it seems to be coming from a legitimate source

• appears to come from your own organization and asks for any confidential information such as login credentials, personal identification info, banking info, etc. 

• pressures you to give info or click a link by giving a deadline for service expiration or account privileges being lost

...it could be phishing and you should double check before clicking or responding.

What if I click on a phishing link?

If you do happen to click on a link that seems suspicious contact your IT staff at 1.800.358.7447 right away. Once you have clicked a phishing link, your computer can be vulnerable to ongoing phishing methods and your personal information could be unsecure.