Identifying Malicious Emails
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 regularly use the above words in their “Subject Line”
- Always be suspicious of emails asking to "verify" or "upgrade your account.” etc.
- Using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is generally frowned upon; it is an indicator that the email may not be legitimate.
Thereatening Tone:
- Phishing emails often give you an ultimatum: “verify your account or permanently lose it”.
- The also often give a very short time in which to act or respond.
Never Send Your Password via Email:
- The University will never ask you to send your password via email.
- Never click on a link in any email, copy or type it into your Internet browser.
- If you are unsure that an email is genuine, contact the sender to confirm that they sent it..
Strange Reply-To: Addresses:
- The following are not University email addresses, so you should be suspicious and never reply to them:
“support.unimelb@gmail”
“unimelb.helpdesk”
“custormercareservicehelpdesk@y7mail.com”
“help.deskgroup2@gmail.com”
“unimelbourne@australiamail.com” - The University will never contact you from a non-university email address.
- Ultimately, you should be suspicious of all emails you receive.
Get Help First:
If you receive an email that threatens to remove your account or makes you suspicious for any reason, call the IT Service Desk on +61 3 8344 40888 to report it immediately.