GOOD ADVICE ON HOW TO SPOT A PHISHING EMAIL/SMS
Keep your MitID and passwords to yourself
- Aarhus University, Nets and other legitimate banks, companies and government authorities will never ask you for your personal passwords, MitID, NemID code card or the like. If you receive a request to provide this kind of information, don’t respond.
Be careful about clicking links in mails and text messages
- Scammers are good at making mails and text messages look genuine. If you are in doubt, check the official website of the sender.
Look for clues that will unmask a scammer
- Cybercriminals will try to entice you to click links or open attached files. But there are a number of clues that will reveal these fakes: If you hover the mouse over a link in a mail, you can see where the link will take you if you click it. Instead of clicking the direct link to the sender’s website, find the official website online and use the search function to see if you can find the same content.
Check the sender
- If you suspect that the sender of a mail might be a scammer, search the internet and check the email address or telephone to make sure the information is correct. Or you can contact the company or government authority via their official website or telephone number and ask for a confirmation that the communication is genuine.
Count to ten before you click
- Scammers often try to get you to act quickly. If you get an unsolicited mail or text message, it’s a good idea not to respond immediately: wait until you have time to think twice before you answer.
HOW TO ACT, IF YOU FALL FOR PHISHING
As an AU employee
Please contact your local IT support team, if you have inadvertently opened an attached file in a phishing email or shared confidential data, like your password.
If you have clicked on a link in a phishing email or SMS and disclosed confidential data, you should also change your password immediately.
We also encourage you to share your experience with your colleagues, family and friends. In this way, you can help and warn others.
As a private individual
If you have inadvertently clicked on a link in a phishing email and disclosed confidential data, e.g. your username and password to e-Boks or your credit card information, you should change your password or block your credit card immediately.
It is also a good idea to change your passwords to other services, if your were tricked by phishing.
We also encourage you to share your experience with your colleagues, family and friends. In this way, you can help and warn others.
Trygfonden and the Danish Consumer Council have released an app called ‘Mit Digitale Selvforsvar’ (‘My Digital Self-defence’). The app makes it possible to send tips and receive warnings of phishing emails.