Phishing Awareness

Recognizing Scam Emails

A recent email impersonating the Financial Aid office was sent to a large number of UWG students. It was not legitimate. This guide walks through what happened, the signs that gave it away, and what to do if a similar email lands in your inbox.

*Note: Phishing emails can take many forms. This example demonstrates one possible format. Please use the information and tips from this page to guide your review of any suspicious messaging arriving in your inbox.

What Happened

The message came from a personal Gmail address, not a university account, and was sent to hundreds of students at once with a blank subject line and an empty message body. The actual scam was hidden inside an attached Word document, which reused the university's branding and claimed the recipient's financial aid was on hold. It urged the reader to click a link to a "Refund Portal" to avoid losing their aid—that link was a shortened URL that did not lead to any UWG website.

Six Signs of a Phishing Email

1. Not from the real domain: Legitimate university communication comes from an @westga.edu (or @my.westga.edu) address, not a personal Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook account.
2. A greeting with no name: "Dear Student" or "Dear Customer" is a strong sign the sender doesn't actually have your information—real offices address you by name.
3. Urgency and threats: Phrases like "act now or lose your aid" are designed to make you click before you stop to think it through.
4. A link that doesn't match: Hover over a link (without clicking) to see where it actually goes. Shortened links (tinyurl, bit.ly, etc.) hiding the real destination are a red flag in an official email.
5. The request hides in an attachment: Genuine offices rarely deliver an urgent action item only through an unsolicited Word or PDF attachment with nothing in the email body.
6. No name or way to verify: A vague title like "Financial Aid Officer" with no name or phone number means there's no one to actually call to confirm the request.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Based on the actual scam email students received:

Email Comparison Table - Comparison between phishing and legitimate emails

Email Section	Phishing Email	Legitimate Email
Sender	Personal Gmail address	Official westga.edu address
Recipients	Blind mass list, 300+ students	Addressed to you individually
Subject	Blank	Specific and descriptive
Greeting	"Dear Student"	Uses your actual name
Tone	Urgent threat ("lose your aid")	Calm, informative
Links	Shortened link hides the real destination	Link matches westga.edu
Signature	"Financial Aid Officer", no name or phone number	Named staff member with contact information

If you receive a suspicious email

Don't click links or open attachments: if anything about the sender, greeting, or tone feels off.

Never enter your username or password: on a page you reached by clicking a link in an email—go to the site directly instead.

Report it with the Phish Alert Button: in Outlook (web, desktop, or mobile). Select Phishing or Suspicious and submit—this safely routes the email to ITS and helps train the spam filter, so you generally don't need to forward it separately. Step-by-step directions can be found on our Instructions for Reporting Phishing and Spam page.

Still unsure?: You can contact ITS for help determining whether a message is legitimate.

Remember: Financial Aid, IT Services, and other university offices will never ask you to verify your account or personal information by clicking a link in an unexpected email.