How You Can Stop Scammers and Learn to Recognize Phishing Attempts

Art Miller

Phishers attempt to collect your personal information to gain access to your accounts, compromise your systems and steal your identity.

Phishing is any attempt, usually over email, to get passwords, credit card numbers or other personal information. If you receive an email claiming that you must click a link to provide your account or other personal information, it could be a scam. There are some simple steps to help determine whether an email is legitimate or if it's a phishing scam.

Verify contact information! Legitimate email should include your name and offer an alternative contact method other than replying to the email or clicking a link. When in doubt, contact the department or person who supposedly sent the email to find out if it is legitimate.

Beware of embedded links! Phishing emails often include links to malicious websites disguised as legitimate links. If an email contains a link to password.uark.edu, for example, the phishers could have changed the destination of that link to go to an unsecured web form designed to steal your information and gain access to your account. When in doubt, copy and paste the link directly into your web browser rather than clicking on it from the email.

Don't fall for the hype! Phishing scams often try to trick you into responding by creating a sense of urgency. The email might claim that you will lose access to your email or bank account, for example. The University of Arkansas and other responsible institutions will never request your information over email or an unsecured website.

When updating your UARK password or logging into any service, always make sure you are at a site with "https://" in the address. The "s" shows that it is a legitimately secured site. The only legitimate site for updating your UARK login information is Password Manager at https://password.uark.edu.

Report phishing scams by forwarding suspicious email to abuse@uark.edu, or report to the IT Help Desk at askit.uark.edu or by calling 479-575-2905. Learn more about how to recognize and report phishing scams.

Get updates about campus technology at twitter.com/uaits or facebook.com/uarkits.