Don't fall for latest email scam

The Great Plains Conference wants to alert you to a spam email is making its way into email inboxes across Kansas and Nebraska.

The email, disguised as a Microsoft Office 365 alert, tells the recipient that his or her @greatplainsumc.org email address has exceeded its mail daily quota on a server. It goes on to tell the recipient that his or her email will stop receiving new emails within 24 hours and then has a link that promotes that the recipient can upgrade his or her quota for free.

Toby Carver, technology coordinator for the conference, urges people not to click on the link and simply to delete the fictitious email.

He offers some tips for identifying if an email may be spam:

• The original email address often has a different domain than the subject of the email. The recent spam email was supposed to be from Microsoft, but the email address originated from “@autonation.com.” This is the first sign it’s spam.
• Improper use of grammar or misspellings. This particular email doesn’t appear to have any major spelling mistakes, but it does contain a grammar mistake with the word “its.” Many spam emails will have numbers in place of letters and contain grammar and spelling errors.
• The message in question says clicking the link will take someone to a location where he or she can extend his or her quota for free. Microsoft typically charges for services.
• The link the recipient is supposed to click doesn’t take you to a Microsoft website. If you point your mouse to the link, Outlook will show you what the link is, and it clearly is not to Microsoft.

In general, it’s a safe practice to respond only to emails from people or organizations you know.
If you have further questions, please contact Carver at gpcit@greatplainsumc.org.
 
 

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