Distinguishing Spam and Phishing

Summary

How to tell the difference between spam and phishing

Body

Spam Messages Versus Phishing

While both spam and phishing result in receiving unwanted messages, spam is generally not harmful while phishing actively targets the recipient with the goal of stealing login credentials or sensitive data. Spam messages are typically unsolicited commercial emails (e.g. advertisements). There is no need to report spam email messages to Technology Services unless you think it may be malicious.

Handling Spam in Gmail

Report the message

To handle spam emails, you can report it to Google, block the sender if desired, then simply delete the email.

Option 1: Click the exclamation mark icon to report spam.
Option 2: Click the three dots next to the reply button then click Report spam.

Block the sender

To block a sender, click the three dots for more options then click Block.

False positives

If Google Mail inaccurately flags a legitimate message as suspicious, click Looks safe on the yellow banner.

Details

Details

Article ID: 9218
Created
Mon 7/1/24 2:57 PM
Modified
Wed 10/2/24 5:54 PM

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