Think Before You Click

Phishers mimic trusted senders to trick you into acting quickly. Make it a habit to think before you click. Even with IU employing sophisticated system security measures, you are still the best defense against scammers.

To protect yourself and the IU community, it's critical you learn to recognize and report phishing emails.

Phishing Resources

For more information on the resources and tools available to students, faculty, and staff at Indiana University, visit https://phishing.iu.edu.

Let us help you "Think before you click"

IT Training provides "Think before you click" interactive workshops, train-the-trainer sessions, and materials to help IU groups and communities be successful. In these sessions, participants:

  • Discover how to spot signs of email phishing schemes
  • Engage in real-world scenarios and possible consequences of being phished
  • Learn about device-specific security options

Request a session or train-the-trainer

Quick steps to "Think before you click"

Recognize it

Ask yourself the following questions, and take these quick steps to think before you click—every time:

Do I really know who that email is coming from?

  • Always verify “sender” and “reply-to” email addresses are legitimate.
  • Check for a digital signature.

Do I really know where that link is taking me?

  • Hover first to view and verify actual URLs.
  • Avoid clicking links. Instead, go directly to trusted sites using official contact details.

Not sure? Or know it's a phish? Report it

If you believe you've received a phishing message, report it to IU professionals who can initiate protective measures as a result. This can help protect others at IU from falling victim.

Do one of the following:

If you believe your accounts may have been compromised, take additional steps to reinforce protections. For help, see Protect IU: Email and Phishing Scams.