To help identify emails that you should be suspicious of, Microsoft has introduced a new feature to Outlook called Unverified Sender. Using email authentication techniques, Outlook will try to verify that the sender is who they say they are. If the sender passes these checks, then what you see on your screen will remain the same as it always has. On the other hand, if the sender does not pass these checks, then Outlook will display a grey circle with a red question mark in the middle of it – as shown in the image above.
You should handle these messages with care. Do not open any attachments; click on any links or reply to the email until you have:
- verified that the sender is who they say they are;
- have a legitimate need for any information that they are asking you for;
- and that attachments and links won’t do any harm to your system or your wider business network.
Remember, however, that not all emails that Outlook marks as suspicious will be malicious emails AND it might not catch emails that are from scammers. It is always worth double-checking an email, its contents and verifying the sender is who they purport to be. If in doubt, contact the sender via telephone or send them a new email to the address that you usually use to contact them to confirm that they sent you the message.
This helpful feature is rolling out now, and if it’s not already available to you, it will be soon through updates.
Do you think that your staff could do with cyber awareness training? For scams like phishing, your weakest link is your users. Training toughens these defences and empowers your users to make appropriate decisions when dealing with suspicious messages.
Talk to us to find out how we can help secure your network from this increasing threat.
