E-Mail Safety Tips: DO's & DON'Ts

"Support Team" E-Mails

Occasionally, the CTC HelpDesk receives reports from users who receive e-mail messages claiming to be from the "Tiger Support Team", "Scatcat Support Team", or a similar source. These e-mails make a variety of claims attempting to trick the user into replying to the message or opening infected attachments included in the message. The exact wording varies, but the text usually claims that your account has been deactivated or that you recently changed your settings, password, or contact e-mail and need to verify them. These messages were NOT sent by Fort Hays State University and are no different from the dozens of spam messages that most people receive every day.

Regardless of who a message claims to be from, it is always necessary to use common sense and caution when checking your e-mail. It is also essential to maintain current anti-virus protection and do regular operating system updates. Spammers have become increasingly more sophisticated and use many tricks to fool people and defeat mail filters. Harmful messages may include text taken from legitimate e-mails regarding procedures, contact information or virus scanning, so the messages appear genuine. Spam messages often include deceptive links that redirect you to malicious Web sites and may "spoof" or fake the "from" address of the e-mail so it appears to come from your friends, work, or school. You are your best defense against viruses and it is your responsibility to be well-informed and cautious.

E-Mail DO's & DON'Ts

• DO scan attachments with anti-virus software every time before viewing.
• DON'T open attachments that you are not expecting, regardless of who they come from.



• DO verify that the apparent sender actually sent the original e-mail if you doubt the validity of a message. Call the sender or send an e-mail by creating a NEW message. Do NOT reply to the original message.
• DON'T reply to suspicious messages or forward them to friends.

Spammers like to steal passwords for services like online banking, eBay, or e-mail accounts so they can send more spam messages. Legitimate e-mails will NEVER ask for your username or password and very rarely contain attachments. When in doubt about changes to your online services, open a new browser window and log into your account to check for yourself.

• DO be particularly cautious when you receive e-mail about services and Web sites that you use.
• DON'T click on links or copy Web addresses from within messages.

Staying informed and knowing how to identify harmful messages is the easiest way to protect yourself and keep your computer virus-free. For more information about e-mail and Internet safety, see Virus Information.