“Junk email” (also known as “spam”) is something we all receive. It is a loose term which can cover unsolicited advertising material, offensive messages, chain letters and off topic messages on mailing lists. The University’s email systems filter out a large proportion of junk email received, but there is inevitably a certain amount that still gets through.

Junk email may not be sent from Engineering Department systems; any user of departmental systems who generates junk email will be subject to the normal disciplinary rules and policy on network misuse.

If you need to send email to a large number of recipients you should consider the UIS Guidelines for bulk email.

Can junk email be dangerous?

Yes. There are various ways in which junk mail can be dangerous:

• It can trick you into giving away passwords to bank accounts etc – ‘Phishing’
• It can trick you into giving away money, in the hope of getting more – ‘Advance fee fraud’
• It can encourage to you click on a link to a webpage which contains a virus or malware, even though the email itself is not harmful – ‘Trojans’

If you have already given away password details or run an infected file you should contact the IT Helpdesk urgently for advice.

Is it Junk?

Sometimes you’re not sure if a message is junk or not. There are some things you can do to check:

• Hover your mouse over any links to see where they really go
• Check email addresses too
• If a message seems odd, call the sender and ask about it
• Be particularly careful with attachments, or requests to log into a webpage

In general if something seems too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.

See also the UIS webpages: “Stay safe online: a spotter’s guide to scams”

What can I do?

While we appreciate that junk email (spam) is annoying, in general our recommendation is to simply delete it.

You should only contact IT Staff for help if:

• You need help identifying whether a message is genuine
• You are receiving hundreds of messages a day and need help to stop them
• The message contains a virus/malware which is not detected by McAfee
• The message is impersonating another person in the university
• The message is trying to steal (phish) your university password(s)

In this case please forward the message(s) to the IT Helpdesk.  Please include as much information as possible about what help you need, and make sure to include the Full headers of the message.

If you are certain that a message is spam, and simply wish it to be blocked, you can forward it (again with full headers) to spam@uis.cam.ac.uk.

What not to do

• Do not reply directly to junk emails.
• Do not send junk mail on to anyone else.
• Don’t click on links in emails at all if you’re unsure they’re safe.
• Don’t open files which arrive in unsolicited emails without checking with the sender.
• Beware of hoaxes – don’t forward chain letters