InfoSec Resources

Spam, Junk Email, & Phishing Scams

Spam or Junk Email 

Spam, or junk email, is unsolicited email that tries to sell you something. About 90% of the email we receive is filtered as spam and removed before it makes it to your mailbox. However, we can’t block it all without the risk that some valid emails will be blocked too. 

What can I do about spam? 

Email spam you receive to spam@missouri.edu as an attachment. Do not forward the email or important information will be lost. We monitor this mailbox to help improve the performance of our spam filtering. Tech Support is available to assist you. Take advantage of phone 573.882.5000, Live Chat! from the DoIT homepage, or walk-up assistance in The Mizzou Store. 

Use junk email filtering 

Junk email filtering is available to all University email users by default. Junk email filtering does not block junk email, but delivers it to a special Junk folder in your mailbox. This allows you to periodically check the junk email folder for messages that may be spam. Also, right clicking on the message displays options which allow you to take action on future junk email.

Phishing Scams 

Phishing scams are emails that try to trick you into giving your personal information, like passwords or credit card numbers. You should never reply or click on a link in a message that asks for personal information. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization in the email using a telephone number that you know to be legitimate. 

What can I do about phishing scams? 

Use the report message option in Outlook to automatically report the phishing email to our security team. Alternatively, you can send phishing emails you receive to abuse@missouri.edu as an attachment. Do not forward the email or important information will be lost. Security specialists monitor this mailbox and work to block access to phishing sites and email addresses. 

How to Report Phishing in Outlook 

The best way to report phishing email is to use the report message option in outlook. This can be found on the menu bar within Outlook.  

Can’t tell if the email is spam or phishing? 

When in doubt, send the email as an attachment to spam@missouri.edu and we will take care of it. 

Missing Emails? 

If you suspect legitimate emails have been blocked by our spam filters, please contact your IT Pro to request an email address be placed on the University’s email whitelist