It is not always easy to distinguish between a legitimate e-mail and an e-mail intended to extort personal information from you (login, password, bank card number, etc.).
Indeed, cyberattackers are increasingly clever and imitate known content; they can trap a first-person, steal their password, and use their UNIGE e-mail account to send new phishing mails: thus, even a sensitized and attentive person could "get caught"!
Below are some right things, useful both in the professional and personal context, which will help you find your way around.
- Analyze the content of the email
- Identify the sender with certainty
- Check the return email address
- Identify suspicious links
- Beware of attachments In
Double-check all of the following 5 points before considering an email is legitimate:
1. Analyze the Content of the Email
Spelling mistakes? Incomprehensible sentences? Foreign language? Requests for personal information? In this case, it is obviously phishing. Do not answer and go your way.
We remind you that official communications at UNIGE are in French (some communications are also written in English).
2. Identify the Sender of the Email With Certainty
The right thing to do: check the name and email address of the sender and/or the return address. Position the mouse on the email address if necessary to display the address saved in the email header.
3. Check the Return Email Address
An email can contain a return address different from the sender's address. This is the address that will be used if we reply to this email.
The right thing to do: check this address as you check the sender's email address. If you have any doubts, the easiest way is to check the email address that will be selected when you reply to the email.
4. Identify Suspicious Links
The email contains a hypertext link? You must then check the syntax of the link.
What matters is not just the link as displayed in the email, but the link as recorded in the HTML content of the email.
The right thing to do: position your mouse on the link and wait for the link to appear. If this is known, you can continue. Otherwise, refrain from clicking!
5. Beware of Attachments
The attachments contained in the emails may contain a virus/malware which will recover your personal information and in particular your password.
Just clicking on an attachment may be enough to activate it. Do not view an attachment unless the sender is trusted and the content of the email consistent.
Before opening an attachment, it is strongly recommended that you save it to the hard drive and then perform an antivirus check. Installing complete security software with advanced features may keep your data secure.
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