Currently Mount Royal University is being targeted with phishing emails from compromised @mtroyal.ca accounts.  I know what you are thinking…how stupid can you be to fall for a phishing email? Well…here is an example of how sophisticated a phishing email can be. The following showed up in my inbox, twice…from two different senders. How did I know it was suspicious?

Notice what is missing from your standard phishing email? There is no sense of urgency. You know the sender. The grammar and spelling are correct. It even has a plausible topic and the new Gmail security features didn’t flag the email. This could be a legitimate email. How do you know for sure?

The answer is, you don’t.  The only way to know if this is a legitimate email is to call the sender and ask them if they sent the email.

Before you click, Stop & Think!

Remember, we are only human. With the increasingly sophisticated techniques being used by cyber criminals you may end up clicking on something you shouldn’t.  If that happens, don’t panic.  Be a superhero and stop the cyber criminals in their tracks!! Disconnect your computer from the network and call the ITS Service Desk at 403-440-6000!