IT enabled a feature for all Langara email accounts that makes it quick and easy to report phishing messages. We know that phishing messages can be a way for cyber criminals to disrupt our operations or steal our personal information – when you report phishing, you help protect our learning environment.
How does it work?
If you receive a phishing message or suspicious email, use the Phish Alert Button to report the message directly to Langara IT. Click Phish Alert, confirm if the message is phishing or suspicious (you can add a comment if needed) and report. The message will be removed from your inbox.
IT will receive the alert and investigate the message further. The tool helps IT be aware of potential phishing messages and even remove them from other Langara inboxes.
Phish Alert Button: the best way to report phishing
Please don’t use Microsoft’s built-in Report feature to reporting phishing (it looks like a button or menu option called “Report”). This feature bypasses Langara IT and doesn’t help us track or prevent phishing messages. Phish Alert is the best way to submit all phishing messages going forward.
Spam? Delete it. Phish? Report it.
Spam or junk emails, which are annoying and often trying to sell you a product/service, are typically not malicious and do not need to be reported to IT. Simply delete them. Please do not use Phish Alert to report spam messages – IT does not monitor these reports.
Phishing emails appeal to our sense of urgency and curiosity. They try to trick users into engaging with the message by clicking, downloading, or providing information, sometimes by impersonating someone we know or trust. If you’ve received a suspicious email and you’re not sure whether it’s a phish, spam, or something else, use Phish Alert to report it.
Phish Alert: How does it work?
When you receive a phishing message suspicious email, use the Phish Alert Button to report the message directly to Langara IT.
1. With the phishing/suspicious message selected, click Phish Alert
2. In the dialogue box that appears, confirm whether the message is phishing or suspicious. You can also add a comment if needed – especially to advise if you interacted or replied to the message before reporting it.
3. Click “Report This Email As Phishing”
4. The message will be removed from your inbox.
IT will receive the alert and investigate the message further, following up with you if necessary. The tool helps IT be aware of potential phishing messages and even remove them from the inboxes of other Langarans that may have received the same phish.
Phish Alert: What does it look like?
It depends where you are accessing your inbox.
On your desktop, it’s a button in the Outlook toolbar that reads “Phish Alert”:
On your browser it appears at the top of the email message alongside other actions like Reply and Forward:
On your mobile device, tap the three dots at the top of an email message to find Phish Alert.
What if I don’t see the Phish Alert Button?
In Outlook for desktop:
The button may not be visible in your toolbar depending on the size of your window. To find it:
1. Click the three dots at the right of the toolbar
2. Select “Customize”
3. Drag “Phish Alert” from the right to a more prominent spot in the left of your toolbar.
4. Delete “Report” by dragging it away from the toolbar and releasing it. This is Microsoft’s built-in reporting tool which bypasses Langara IT .
In Outlook Web Access:
If Phish Alert doesn’t appear at the top of the email message next to other actions like Forward and Reply, you should be able to find it by clicking the waffle menu (the icon that looks like a waffle, immediately to the left of the three dots).
To make Phish Alert more visible in Outlook Web Access:
1. Click the gear icon to open Outlook settings.
2. Click “View all Outlook settings.”
3. Select “Mail,” then “Customize actions.”
4. Scroll down to the “Message surface” section to see all the available actions and icons.
5. Select Phish Alert and hit “Save.”
On mobile:
Phish Alert should automatically appear in the list of actions that pops up when you tap the three dots at the top of an email message. You may need to scroll down to find it.