Like most people, you will receive the odd fraudulent email, some of which can be very convincing. Knowing which clues to look for can greatly reduce the chances of school or personal data being put at risk.

Good fraudulent emails look almost identical to genuine ones, and often appear to be from companies you know, such as:

• Amazon

• eBay

• Paypal

• Phone companies like EE, O2 or Vodafone

• DHL

• Travel companies

• Student Finance

  • Banks
  • Do not click on links if you have any doubts – The text you see on screen may not match the website address that it will go to.
  • Contact the person or organisation outside of the email by searching for their website in a browser. From there you can check your online account or contact them.
  • Never load remote content or download a picture if you are in any doubts.
  • If it is definitely fraudulent, mark it as junk and delete it. Do not reply, click links, view attachments or view images.
  • If you have previewed or opened an attachment which you subsequently realise is fraudulent, clicked a link, or allowed remote content or images to be seen in an email that is likely to be fraudulent :
  • If you think your bank\card or the schools bank\card details have been compromised contact your bank\ bursary straight away.
  • Never give out your School passwords (or any other password). No reputable organisation will ask you to.
  • If you think your school password has been compromised contact IT Support immediately so we can reset it. If it’s a third party then contact them or reset your password with them ASAP.
  • Use a unique password with a mixture of letters (upper and lowercase) numbers and punctuation.

They can even appear in the guise of fellow employees.

Clues to look for

1. If it states you have ordered a service that you have not – it’ll most likely to be fraudulent. Delete the email, even if it looks convincing. If you want to double-check, use a browser to locate their website. From there you can check your online account and/or contact them.

2. If it includes an attached file that you were not expecting – Don’t open or preview it. Attachments can be used to load viruses or malware onto a computer. They know you might be curious enough to open the attachment to see what it is. Don’t look - just delete. Absolutely do not Enable Content or Macros.

3. Check the email address it was sent from - Does it look like the expected sender? Is it readable, or unusual, or sent on behalf of another email account? Note: even if it looks like the right sender, hackers can hijack email accounts, so look for other clues. Telephone the person if you are in and doubt to make sure they did send it.

If you are unsure if it is fraudulent or not

• If you think it may be genuine but you are still unsure ask IT Support.

If you think you have responded to a fraudulent email

• Turn off the computer straight away

• Contact IT Support

A Note about Passwords

• Don’t use the same password for more than one account - just don’t.

We block most fraudulent messages sent to your school account (using services which identify the vast majority before they reach your inbox), but occasionally, they still get through.

If you follow this above advice, your work and personal data/finances will be far less vulnerable to attack.

N.B. If you check your personal email on school computers please be aware that we cannot control or filter emails to this account.

Additional:

Remote control of your PC

 Some emails (or sometimes phone calls) may claim to be from a legitimate company (such as Microsoft) and, for example, claim you have a virus on your PC, offering a link to a remote connection to enable them to ‘fix’ it. Never allow a remote connection to your computer at school, unless you have authorised it first via IT support. Similarly never allow a remote connection to your computer outside of school unless you are absolutely sure it is via a genuine person/company and for a legitimate reason.