Beware phishing emails and calls

Phishing is:

Any website, online service, phone call or text message that poses as a company or brand you recognise. Any contact like this is designed to convince you to hand over valuable personal details or your money, or download something that infects your computer.

A common phishing strategy that targets Sussex students and staff is claiming that an email comes from IT Services, Student Accounts or another department at the University. Take great care with any email that claims your email account is due to expire, or that your user account has been deleted, or that a payment is due on your account, especially if the email contains a link to rectify the problem.

Can you tell the difference between a genuine email and a fake one? Do you know how to spot a link to a phishing website that'll capture your login details? Do you know how to respond to a phone call that might be malicious?

Phishing advice from Microsoft

An ITS guide to spotting a phishing email

An email is asking for personal information - what should I do?