The Email Can Be Real, but the Request Can Be Fake

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Welcome back to our monthly Tech Tip! This year, we'll continue focusing on simple ways to recognize phishing attempts and protect our accounts.

🎣 THE EMAIL CAN BE REAL, BUT THE REQUEST CAN BE FAKE

We've talked before about checking the sender of a suspicious email. That's still important, but there's a catch:

Sometimes the sender really IS who they say they are.

Cybercriminals sometimes gain access to a legitimate email account and use it to send phishing messages to people that person already knows. That means you could receive an email from a coworker, vendor, or even a school leader's real email address and still be looking at a phishing attempt.

Before clicking a link, opening an unexpected attachment, sending information, or making a purchase, ask yourself:

🤔 Does this request make sense?

Watch for:

  • An unusual or unexpected request from someone you know

  • Urgent requests to buy gift cards or make a payment

  • Unexpected links asking you to sign in

  • Requests to change banking, payroll, or payment information

  • A coworker suddenly asking for sensitive information

  • A message that just doesn't sound like the person who sent it

When in doubt, verify another way. Call the person, send them a separate message, or contact the Technology Team. Don't use contact information provided in the suspicious message itself.

📅 BONUS TECH TIP: PHISHING CAN SHOW UP ON YOUR CALENDAR!

Phishers have also been using Google Calendar invitations to get around traditional email protections.

A malicious email may be blocked, but depending on your Google Calendar settings, its invitation can still appear on your calendar, even if you never accepted it.

We recommend changing your Calendar settings so invitations you haven't accepted aren't automatically added to your calendar.

In Google Calendar:

⚙️ Settings → Event settings → Add invitations to my calendar

Change the setting so invitations aren't automatically added before you interact with them.

And remember: Just because something appears on your Google Calendar doesn't mean it's legitimate. Don't click links, call phone numbers, or follow instructions in an unexpected calendar invitation.

🛡️ ONE LAST THING...

If something looks suspicious, report it rather than investigating it yourself. We'd much rather look at a legitimate email than have someone take a chance on a convincing phishing attempt.

Stop. Look. Verify.

Technology Department

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