Phishing Examples

Modified on Mon, Jul 7 at 2:16 PM

Phishing and spoofing email messages often contain a fake sender address and/or name, but might also come from Lesley email addresses of people who have been phished. Review the From: field in the email to validate the sender. Poorly worded or grammatically-incorrect messages are a red flag for phishing, as well as asking for unprompted information or including suspicious links. We've compiled a few examples of actual spam messages sent to Lesley University recipients.


Example 1:


From: "Lewis, Terry L." <tllewis@gov.bm>
Reply-To: "Lewis, Terry L." <tllewis@gov.bm>
Date: Friday, at 11:09 AM
Subject: ITHelp Desk 

 
We are migrating all mailboxes to the new Outlook Web App. It is the new home for online self-service and information. Click on GATEWAY and perform a one-time sign-on:
  • Access the new staff directory
  • Update your ID photo
  • E-mail and Calendar Flexibility
  • Everyone is advised to migrate immediately. 

 ©Help Desk Support
Connected to Microsoft Exchange © 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Example 2:

From: "Lesley Employee" <sampleemployee@lesley.edu>
Date: July 6, 2025 at 1:02:56 PM EDT
To: Example <Example@lesley.edu>
Subject: Student & Staff Special: Don't Miss Out!



Hey Staffs & Students!

Mrs. Rosalie Osborne is giving away some seriously cool stuff that belonged to her late husband. You can snag these items for FREE, but you'll need to cover the shipping to get them to your place.

Check out what's up for grabs:

* A mint-condition Violin
* A brand-new 2023 MacBook Pro 14' M3 8 Core CPU
* A PlayStation 5
* A Nintendo Switch OLED
* An Xbox Series S (512GB SSD)
* An iPad Air (5th generation, 256GB)
* Eric Clapton's 1939 Martin OOO-42 Guitar
* A Leica S (TyR 007) Digital SLR Camera
*   A Gibson Custom Shop's '63 Firebird V Guitar


Don't sleep on this chance to score some awesome gear! Text Mrs. Rosalie Osborne directly at +1 (424) 331-3573 to claim your prize and sort out the shipping. Heads up, these items are gonna go fast, so don't wait!

Good luck, and enjoy!


  

Example 3:


From: Janet L. Steinmayer <hschool419@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, 1:06:23 PM
To: Example <Example@lesley.edu>
Subject:
 kindly share me your cell number I need you to get something done.
Best Regards
Janet L. Steinmayer
President



Example 4:

From: Christopher Dean <christopher.dean@securityinforeports.com>
Sent: Friday, 3:35 AM
To: Example <Example@lesley.edu>
Subject: Use and protect backup against COVID-19-related cybercrime
 
Use and protect backup against COVID-19-related cybercrime
Read more »
 

   
Example 5:

From: IT Service Desk <Janette.Garcia@njcourts.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, 1:16 PM
To: Example <Example@lesley.edu>
Subject: Document Blocked
 
Dear direiter@lesley.edu,
Your incoming document has been blocked for some reasons:
Necessary action is required from you to received all pending documents.
Thank you,
Copyright © 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
This message is for direiter@lesley.edu only. Please do not reply to this emails.




Example 6:


From: president office <president.desk@daum.net>
Sent: Thursday, 8:16 AM
To: Example
Subject: Presidential Planning, Initiatives and Strategic Motives
 
Dear Colleagues ,

Our aims is to provide guidance and align our behaviors as we make great decisions that impact our daily operations. we rely on our values and this code as guidelines, as a breach of the Policy may result in disciplinary action against the Employee concerned.
All employees, including all individuals on full-time or part-time employment with the Institution are required to go through the guidelines attached in this email. It is important that we all adhere to these guidelines so you will be helping to ensure a future success of this great institution.
“Many strategic planning processes have failed at the implementation stage. In my observation, this often happened because the initial conversations were allowed to trail off or because no one felt that she/he was responsible for the implementation. In a truly effective planning process there are multiple steps: we need to determine where we want to go; figure out how to get there; do the work; and measure our progress.”
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to delivering a better and reliable service.
Sincerely ,
President example. PresidentLesley UNIVERSITY






 

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