Being able to identify and report potential phishing scams is a way to not only protect yourself, but assist in protecting others.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of scam that comes in the form of e-mail or text. It will attempt to look like a legitimate request for information, often mimicking a real company or real person. Phishing e-mails can sometimes mimic people from Widener.

Phishing e-mails will typically either request sensitive account information from you or prompt you to follow a link where you will be asked to provide log in information on a fake webpage.  These e-mails rely on creating a sense of urgency, possibly indicating a critical issue, or winning a prize with a specific timeframe to claim it.

Identify Phishing E-Mails

There are ways to help you identify if an e-mail is a phishing scam.

• Check the e-mail address: Scams will mimic companies or people you may know but the e-mail address will not match the spelling or format of what you would normally see from that person or company. Verify the sender’s identify by reaching out to them directly or calling a company’s customer service line.
• Requests for sensitive information: Legitimate companies will never request personal or account information to be sent via e-mail.
• Offers that seem to good to be true: If it seems to good to be true, it likely is. If you want to be sure, call the company or person rather than respond to the e-mail.
• Links or attachments from an unknown sender: Whether it’s a company or person, be suspicious of links and attachments. You can verify link URLs by hovering over the link to see preview the URL to see where it goes and compare it to the company’s actual URL, you may see differences indicating it is a scam.

Please Note: Widener University will never request any personal, financial, or account information via e-mail or text. Any university requests for payment or account updates can all be done by accessing myWidener.

Report Phishing E-Mails

Most e-mail platforms offer the option to report phishing e-mails. We ask that if you are using Outlook for your Widener e-mails, to report any suspected phishing.

To report suspected phishing e-mails:

• PC Desktop App: With the message open, click the Phish Alert button along the top menu.
• Mac Desktop App: With the message open, click the Report option in the top bar. In the drop down that appears, click Report Phishing.
• Mobile App: With the message open, click the three dots at the top of the message and select Report Junk. Click Phishing from the options that appear.

If you have clicked a link from a suspicious e-mail, it is important to call the Client Experience (CX) team at 610-499-1047 as soon as possible to inform them so they can secure your account.

Having Issues?

You can either visit the Client Experience Team on your campus (TSC, Delaware CX Helpdesk, or Commonwealth CX Helpdesk) or you can fill out a QuickTicket.