Report a Suspected Spam/Phishing Email

Special Notes

• If you are unsure of an email or how to proceed with it, call the Help Desk at 423-425-4000 or email Security at Security@utc.edu.
• If you are a student with an MocsMail account, forward any phishing emails to Security@utc.edu.
• Check Phishbowl to see if anyone else has received the same email.  
• If you have lost money to a job scam, you must contact the University Police Department at 423-425-4357. 

Differences between Spam and Phishing

Spam:

• Unsolicited
• May be an actual vendor selling services, but does not respond when you ask them to stop sending you emails
• Can still be damaging if the user engages

Phishing:

• Sender usually poses as a trustworthy source
• Meant to gather confidential information; not just financial
• Emails will be vague or have a sense of urgency to lure people into responding

Handling Spam Emails

Outlook desktop application

1. Open the email and click the three dots near the upper left hand corner. 
2. Hover over 'Report Message' and select 'Junk'.
3. To block the sender, click the three dots again and hover over 'Junk'.
4. Select 'Block Sender'.

Outlook web application

1. Open the email and click the arrow next to 'Report'. 
2. Select 'Report Junk'.
3. To block the sender, click the three dots and select 'Block'.

Gmail web application  

1. Open the email and click the three dots near the upper right corner.
2. Select 'Report Spam'.
3. To block the sender, click the three dots and select 'Block'.

Gmail mobile app

1. Open the email and click the three dots near the upper right corner.  
2. Select 'Report Spam'.
3. To block the sender, click the three dots next to the sender's name or email address.  
4. Select the 'Block' option.  

If you are frequently receiving unwanted spam emails, it's possible that you're subscribed to a mailing list. To check:

1. Open the unwanted email and scroll to the bottom.
2. Look for a message similar to:
   • "If you don't want to receive these emails from our company in the future, please unsubscribe."
3. Click the ‘unsubscribe’ link provided in the message
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to remove yourself from the mailing list. 

Unsubscribing from these emails should reduce the amount of spam you receive over time.

Handling Phishing Emails

Outlook desktop application

1. Do not click on any links, open attachments, respond to the sender, or forward the email to others (except Security).
2. Check Phishbowl to see if anyone else has received the same email.
3. Open the email and click the three dots near the upper left hand corner.
4. Hover over 'Report Message' and select 'Phishing'.
5. Select 'Report' when the window appears.

Outlook web application

1. Do not click on any links, open attachments, respond to the sender, or forward the email to others (except Security).
2. Check Phishbowl to see if anyone else has received the same email.
3. Open the email and select 'Report'.
4. Select 'OK' when the window appears.
5. To block the sender, click the three dots and select 'Block'.

Gmail web application

1. Do not click on any links, open attachments, respond to the sender, or forward the email to others (except Security).
2. Check Phishbowl to see if anyone else has received the same email.
3. Open the email and select the three dots near the upper right-hand corner.
4. Select the 'Report Phishing' option.
5. To block the sender, click the three dots and select 'Block'.

Gmail mobile application

The option to report an email as phishing is only available to the web application users. Instead, please report the email as spam and proceed to block the user.  

Additional Support 

Open an IT Helpdesk request ticket.
Send an email to ITHelp@utc.edu.
Contact the IT Help Desk at 423-425-4000 or visit our IT Chat Portal.

 

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