Phishing and Spam

To reduce the amount of spam that you receive, follow these guidelines:

• Do not display your e-mail address in public. This includes in chat rooms, on responses to news stories or blog postings and in online membership directories.
• Be sure to read a Web site's privacy policy before providing your e-mail address, or other personal information. Some companies may sell your information.
• When submitting a form online, be sure that you have read through all of the information and understand what you are signing up for. You may be able to "opt out" of receiving e-mails from the company, and/or the company's "partners".
• Get more tips about how to reduce spam in your inbox from the Federal Trade Commission: You’ve Got Spam: How to "Can" Unwanted Email

• If you get spam e-mail that you think is deceptive, forward it to spam@uce.gov. The Federal Trade Commission uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive e-mail. For additional information, visit the FTC's Spam website.

A legitimate institution will never ask you for any of the following information through any form of electronic communication:

• your MySanDiego username and password,
• your e-mail address and password,
• your computer password,
• your Social Security Number,
• your mother's maiden name,
• your bank account information, or
• your bank PIN code.

• Unofficial "From" email address
• Urgent action required
  • "Your account be locked out if you don't update your password"
  • "Your account needs attention"
  • "Your account has been compromised"
• Generic greetings
  • "Dear member,
  • "Dear Customer.
• Link to fake website - always hover over the link to see the actual website address. (See video below for more examples)
• Legitimate links mixed with fake links - examples: university.sandiego.edu is a fake link vs. the legitimate link http://sandiego.edu.