How Do I Report Spam/Phishing Messages?
Reporting spam and phishing messages
If you receive a spam or phishing message you need to report it immediately. You do this by utilizing the “Report Message” feature
in Outlook. For information on using this feature, see our instructions on Microsoft’s Report Message tool.
NOTE: Utilizing the Report Message tool is the preferred way to report a phishing message. However, if you are unable to use that feature and need to report a phishing attempt, you can forward the message as an attachment to spam@ben.edu.
Steps on forwarding an email as an attachment for several popular email clients and web browsers
| Microsoft Outlook (Windows) | Highlight the message, press Ctrl + Alt + F --or-- Highlight or Open the message, on the "Home" tab under the "More" option of the "Respond" group choose Forward as attachment --or-- Open a new message, drag and drop the message(s) to be forwarded into the body of the new message. |
| Microsoft Outlook (Mac) | Highlight the message, Control+Command+J (⌃⌘J) --or-- Highlight the message, on the home ribbon click on attachment --or-- Highlight the message, on the Message menu select attachment |
| Office 365 Outlook Web Access - (OWA) | Open a new message, drag and drop message(s) into the new message window |
| Mac OS X Mail | Highlight message, select Forward as Attachment from the menu |
What is spam?
Spam is unsolicited junk email sent indiscriminately in bulk, often for commercial purposes. Much of it is sent by botnets, networks of virus-infected computers, complicating the process of tracking down the spammers. According to various estimates, about 80% of all emails in the world may be spam.
What is phishing?
Phishing is the practice of defrauding users into giving up their usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information. Phishing emails will often try to get you to click on links that take you to fake websites. They often pretend to be from organizations such as a bank, PayPal, Amazon, or even the Benedictine University. Never respond to emails asking you to provide personal information. BenU will never ask you for personal information by email.