Phishing examples
These are actual samples of phishing emails received at the College. Please note this list is by no means exhaustive, i.e. if you are unsure about the legitimacy of an email, please contact IT Support.
January 2020
How to tell it is phishing:
- The email, although pretending to come from a Dawson colleague, has a yahoo.com address.
- To verify :Open the email and choose File  ⇒ Properies  ⇒ Internet Headers  ⇒ scroll to
< Return-Path >: apexinfobox@yahoo.com
How to tell it is phishing:
- The email, although pretending to come from a Dawson colleague, has a gmail.com address.
- The sense of urgency is also a hint
October 2016
How to tell it is phishing:
- The message, is not sent from an IST manager and The signature does not include Dawson logo
- An action is requested via a hyperlink
July 2016
How to tell it is phishing:
-
-
- The message, concerning a security upgrade, is not sent from an IST manager
- An action is requested via a hyperlink
- The signature does not include Dawson logo.
-
How to tell it is this phishing:
-
-
- Although trying to pose as ‘Dawson Admin’, the sender is not from Dawson
- An action is requested via a hyperlink
- There is no signature.
-
The link in the message led to a page that looked just like our Outlook Web Access. The phishers even purchased a domain, dawson-webmail.com to look more convincing
June 2016
How to tell it is phishing:
-
-
- You should not receive a message from itunes about Neflix or any other purchase that is not College business. (in other words, if you do have an itunes account connected to your Dawson email, it must be used strictly for College business)
- The link to Manage Subscriptions does not point to Apple.com
- Apple has a page on .
-
How to tell it is phishing:
-
-
- The sender is not from Dawson
- An action is requested via a hyperlink
- The signature does not include Dawson logo. The IT department at Dawson is called Information Systems and Technology.
-
March 2016
How to tell it is phishing:
-
- The message, concerning a ‘system upgrade’, is not sent from an IST manager
- An action is requested via a hyperlink
- The signature does not include Dawson logo. The IT department at Dawson is called Information Systems and Technology. The support team is the called IT Support.
-