As many of you are aware, there has been an increase lately in the number of malicious emails containing potentially damaging programs/viruses/ransomware and other harmful things. Always make sure, BEFORE you click on a link, that you:

·         Are expecting this email and know who it came from, and why you are receiving it.

·         Hover over the ‘From’ address, or right click and select Outlook properties. This will tell you if someone is spoofing someone, and if so, just delete the email. Watch for the spelling of names, they sometimes get it very close to the real name they are trying to impersonate.

·         Hover over the link, and it will reveal where the link goes – verify the address is legitimate and what you would expect.

Do NOT use the unsubscribe link on a suspicious email. Rather, use the Junk Mail function in Outlook and it will block the sender for you. Clicking the Unsubscribe link is another way damage can be done or more information collected.

Do NOT give your user name or password to anyone in an email, unless you are 100% sure you are communicating internally (i.e., to IT). Even then, it’s better to use the phone.

Practice safe computing!