What To Do If You Received a Suspicious Email
- If you are a Sierra College student, forward the suspicious email to Student Tech Support (studenttechsupport@sierracollege.edu) and they will answer any questions on the legitimacy or validity of an email sent to your @student.sierracollege.edu email account.
- If you are Sierra College faculty or staff, click on the "Report Phishing" button to report a suspicious email received in your @sierracollege.edu account.
- Outlook (mobile): Click the 3-dotted menu and click on "Report Phishing"
- Outlook (web): Click on the 3-dotted menu, then click "Report" and click "Report Phishing"
- Outlook (desktop): In top navigation of Outlook, click on "Report Phishing" button
Who Can Use the Form?
Anyone with an active Sierra College email account (faculty, staff, students and contractor employees) may click on the "Report Suspicious Email" button to report a suspicious email.
What is a Suspicious Email or Phishing Scam?
Phishing scams are typically fraudulent email messages appearing to come from legitimate enterprises (e.g., your college, your internet service provider, your bank). These messages usually direct you to a "spoofed" (fake) website or otherwise get you to divulge private information such as your account password, credit card number, or other sensitive personal information. Criminals will use this private information to commit identity theft.
Did you know? 91% of all cyber-attacks start with a phishing email. Reporting these emails will help us better protect ourselves and our students!
Warning Signs of a Suspicious Email
Here are some ways to identify scams and keep your information secure online:
- Unusual Senders. Be wary of emails from unknown senders or those that don't match the organization's typical communication style. Official Sierra College business will be sent from an @sierracollege.edu email address, not an @student.sierracollege.edu email address. If you recognize the sender but the message or links are questionable, do not hesitate to contact the person directly to confirm they sent the email. (Note: Do not call any phone numbers listed in the suspicious email as they could also be spoofs).
- Examine how the email is written. Check for:
- poor grammar (e.g., run-on sentences, sentences beginning with lower case letters)
- misspellings/typos
- oddly placed punctuation
- inconsistent use of fonts
- odd or incorrect use of upper and lower case words
- Consider the contents of the email. If the contents are unexpected or sound too good to be true, they likely are. Scammers often offer gifts, promises of money, threats of withholding money and high-paying employment opportunities.
- Question if the tone of the email is threatening. The scammer may mention terminating your account or pressure you to respond within a short period of time (often 24-hours or less). Please know that Sierra College does not demand a response within 24 hours. For instance, our process for waitlists allow three days and our drop for non-payment allows 10 days.
- Emails seeking passwords or verification codes are clear signs of a scam. Sierra College will never ask for these. If you receive an email or text asking for this information, do not provide it.
- Look for a yellow header. A yellow header means the email was sent from outside of Sierra College. Do not click on links or open any attachments unless you recognize the sender.
- Hover over any links before clicking on them. When you hover over the link, look at the URL where they are attempting to send you. If the URL seems strange or doesn't match the supposed sender's website, it's likely a phishing attempt. Be sure you recognize the web address before clicking.
- Pay attention to any mention of a location or address. If there is a Sierra College address or location listed, check our Visit Sierra College page to verify that the address matches the address for our campuses in Rocklin, Nevada County, Roseville or Tahoe-Truckee.
Tips and Actions You Should Avoid
While it is good to know what actions to take, it is also vital to be aware of things you should avoid doing. Here are some examples of things you should never do.
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Never give out any personal information. This includes your Social Security number, bank or credit card information, or any other account details such as user names and passwords. Be especially careful if they are asking for information about your personal email account.
How Phishing Scams Can Negatively Impact You
Some potential consequences of phishing scams include but are not limited to: