Cybercriminals know the best strategies for gaining access to the university’s sensitive data. There are several tricks to spotting a phishing scam. You can check the sender and links, look for a sense of urgency, requests to send or spend money, and pay attention to bad grammar, to name a few. Visit OIT’s website for more information about how to spot a phishing scam and what to do when you receive one. 

Follow a couple of steps to see if an email you received is a scam and report it to us.

1. Check to see if a message has been reported as phishing on OIT’s System Status Center: Recent Email Scam.
2. Report the email to OIT Abuse if you don’t see it in the Recent Email Scam list by forwarding the message with full headers to abuse@utk.edu. You can visit the OIT Knowledge Base for detailed instructions on finding and copying the full headers of an email message. 

The reporting of suspicious email itself is an exponential protection. Once you report a phishing scam and the headers to the abuse account, the OIT email admins will eradicate the offending email from our entire email tenant, using your diligence to protect others. Remember, if you see something, say something. 

As always, if you are not sure if an email is a scam, don’t hesitate to reach out to the OIT HelpDesk at 865-974-9900.