If you receive an unexpected email from your supervisor, Internet service provider, bank, or friend, think twice before responding. It might be a phishing scam. According to the Postal Service™ Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT), phishing is an email scam designed to trick recipients into providing personal or financial information.
The emails can look legitimate and often include urgent messages to immediately update certain information or include links to fraudulent websites.
Variations including spear phishing (personalized email that appears to come from your employer) and whaling (emails that target a company’s senior officials).
Phishing emails often have grammar, spelling, and syntax errors.
If you receive a questionable email:
n Don’t follow any links. Reply by typing the sender’s address in Outlook or by using an established bookmark.
n Don’t give out organizational, personal, or financial information to anyone via email.
n Call the sender using a telephone number that you know to be legitimate to verify the email.
Notify CIRT at 866-877-7247 or uspscirt@usps.gov if you think phishing emails are being sent to USPS® personnel.
— Corporate Information Security Office,
Chief Information Officer, 2-5-15
