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There are more than 950 phishing emails targeting ����ɫ�� email addresses reported every month. So what can students, faculty and staff do to protect themselves and our institution? Here are six things you can do:

1. Check the sender.��Do you recognize the email address? Were you expecting an email from this person? If there is a link��in��the email, when you hover over it, does it look like a legitimate URL? Are there spelling errors? Try typing the URL into your browser instead of clicking on the link. If there are attachments in the email and you��are not sure if they are malicious or not, give the person a call��and confirm they sent you the email.����

2. Look for the��“external” marking��at the top of an email.��It looks like this, but will be in red:��[△EXTERNAL].��This will tell you if the sender is someone outside of the university.��Sometimes cybercriminals��mock up��an important individual’s email, like��a faculty��dean, and��use it to��request things��like gift cards or your information.��Every year IT receives reports of individuals deceived in this manner —��cybercriminals pose as their boss, professor, dean or��others.��If the��email is marked “external” you will know it’s not from someone at��UCalgary.��If it’s not marked external, you should still look for the clues above —��sometimes cybercriminals can gain access to��a��UCalgary��account��and send out malicious emails��from their email address.����

3. Keep your��personal information personal.��Never��email or text��personal or financial information. Check your bank, credit and��debit card statements regularly. Never share your��UCalgary��or personal passwords with anyone.��

4. Find��a��work-around.��Received an email saying you need to update your password? Getting calls from someone claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency? Instead of responding directly, close the email or hang��up and go��directly��to the website to update your password or��to��find the��number to call the agency back. It’s better to make a customer service agent wait to speak to you than to unknowingly provide your��sensitive information to a cybercriminal.��

5. Trust your gut.��If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.��Don’t click on links or open any��attachments. Follow the steps below to report it.��

6. Report it. Once you’ve “caught” the phish, make sure to report it to help prevent others from falling victim to it. This helps protect everyone at the university. If you receive a suspicious email, include it as an attachment in a new email to reportphishing@ucalgary.ca and then delete the email, or report it using the tools in your email navigation bar.�� ��

If you��receive a suspicious email and you��are still not sure��what to do, feel free to reach out to the team. They can provide you with guidance and further information over the phone. More information and resources are also available on the .��

What is IT doing to prevent phishing?��

There are��a number of��programs in place to help prevent phishing at the ����ɫ��:��

• Cybersecurity awareness program: To��educate and��promote��good cyber hygiene among students, faculty and staff.��
• Spam blocking technology: More than 99 per cent��of spam or phishing emails are blocked before they hit��UCalgary��inboxes. Unfortunately, even with the best spam blocking technology, some��malicious emails will get through, making the above security awareness program so important.��
• Report phishing email��(reportphishing@ucalgary.ca): To collect and act on phishing emails��the spam blocking technology does not catch. Once��a phish is reported, our IT security team reviews the information and works��to remove the email��from other inboxes.����
• Marking��external emails as “external” to help identify when an email is coming from outside the university (see above).��
• Phishing exercise program: In addition to the awareness program, phishing exercises, or simulations, are also sent periodically to help educate faculty and staff about what to look for to identify phishing emails.����
• Detailed phishing��information��on��the , including��a .����

Faculty and staff have an added layer of protection through multifactor authentication —��or MFA. This is a second verification, like a code sent to your mobile, in addition to your password. Students are also encouraged to .

Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. By working together, we can help increase cybersecurity at the ����ɫ��.��

Follow the UCalgary ��to keep��up to date on IT outages and news.��