Phishing Alert – Be Aware and Avoid Email Scams
December 6, 2021
To all TRCA staff,
As we work to further enhance TRCA’s cyber defenses, we want to highlight a common cyber-attack that everyone should be aware of – phishing.
“Phishing” is the most common type of cyber-attack affecting TRCA staff and can take many forms, but all with a common goal – getting you to share sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card information, or bank account details.
Please always be aware that your superiors or colleagues will NOT ask you to buy gift cards or to send gift card numbers or PINs via email. They also will NOT ask you to use your credit cards (business or personal) to do a personal favour and/or to send confidential or financial information to non-TRCA accounts.
Although we maintain controls to help protect our networks and computers from cyber threats, we rely on you to be our first line of defense.
What You Can Do
To avoid these phishing schemes, please observe the following email best practices:
- Be suspicious of emails that ask for your personal information.
- Check the sender’s email address. Is it exactly the same as the company’s email address or similar? If you are unsure, search for the email address to see if it is legitimate.
- TRCA Staff, legitimate financial institutions, and most other companies will never ask for your personal credentials via email.
- Look for bad spelling and grammar in the text of the email.
- Review the signature. Does it look legitimate or provide contact information?
- Does it make sense for the email to have an attachment. Be wary of .exe attachment files.
Please follow this link to watch the Lunch and Learn on Phishing and Security Awareness.
Thanks again for helping to keep our network, and our people, safe from these cyber threats.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach the ITRM Service Desk through:
Calling the ITRM Service Desk: 416.661.6600 ext. 4357 (HELP)
Submitting a request: ITRM Service Desk
Visiting the ITRM Service Desk: Located on the 2nd floor, South Side of 101 Exchange Ave