Security alerts, SPAM and threats

What is SPAM?

SPAM is unsolicited commercial email. The most common types of spam concern prescription drugs, enhanced body parts, get rich quick schemes, financial services, easy qualifications etc.

What is a Spear Phishing email?

Spear phishing is the use of spoofed email messages to persuade people within a company to reveal their usernames, passwords, and, potentially, other personal information.

As a rule of thumb, anything that specifically mentions La Trobe or targets individual La Trobe staff or students, could be considered as a Spear Phishing email.

What is a hoax or scam email?

As a Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) customer, all of the University's emails are automatically protected against spam and malware. EOP has built-in malware and spam filtering capabilities that help protect inbound and outbound messages from malicious software and help protect you from spam.

SPAM can occasionally get past the Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) service. The best course of action is to report the SPAM directly to Microsoft as soon as possible. Microsoft will analyse submitted spam samples and adjust the spam filtering database to improve detection accuracy.

Samples can be forwarded to: junk@office365.microsoft.com

Important! Samples must be forwarded as an attachment. Please refer to the instructions below to forward the email as an attachment.

Forwarding an e-mail as an attachment

Microsoft Outlook 2010/2013

1. Highlight the message that you wish to forward to Microsoft.
2. Under the Home tab, click More.
3. Click Forward as Attachment.
4. Copy and paste the original spam message subject line into the new message subject line.
   
   Important! Leave the body of the new message empty.

Outlook for Mac 2011

1. Right-click the message that you wish to forward to Microsoft.
2. Select Forward Special > As Attachment.
3. Copy and paste the original spam message subject line into the new message subject line.
   
   Important! Leave the body of the new message empty.

Office 365

1. Navigate to http://mail.office365.com
2. Log in using your La Trobe student email address and student account password.
3. Click New.
4. Drag the SPAM sample(s) that you wish to forward to Microsoft, to the new email message.
5. Copy and paste the original spam message subject line into the new message subject line.
   
   Important! Leave the body of the new message empty.

• Never make a purchase from an unsolicited email.
• Never respond to SPAM or click on links inside it.
• Don't use the "preview" mode in your email viewer.
• Never provide your email address on the internet.
• Use the "BCC" field if you email many people at once.
• If you don't know the sender delete the email.

For further information on spam and viruses please refer to the Anti-spam and anti-malware protection topic on the Microsoft TechNet Library.