What is a Compromised Account?
A compromised account status occurs when campus systems report suspicious logins or email activity on your account and Information Security "compromises” your account. A notification is sent to your personal email address and phone number listed in Account Center. This compromised status disables access to your account.
Usually, an account becomes compromised after a phishing campaign in which a hacker sends out false emails regarding job offers or other opportunities that people have to “sign-in” to see. Once a user inputs their username and password, the hackers now can sign into those accounts. They will attempt to access these accounts in order to send out more phishing or spam emails.
Once they’re in, the malicious party can configure your email account in sneaky ways, including “sending as” someone else, blind copying (Bcc), automatic forwarding, or carbon copying (Cc) themselves on all of your email traffic without you knowing it. Because of this, it is essential to check your email settings if your account has been compromised.
Before you proceed, please note that you must call IT Support Services to perform this process as our technicians must re-enable the account before you are able to reset your password or sign in.
Change your Password
The first step in securing your account is changing your Chico State password. Please follow the instructions on our Knowledge Base here: https://support.csuchico.edu/TDClient/1984/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=30361
NOTE: After changing your password through the Chico State Portal, it can take up to an hour before you are able to sign into Microsoft Outlook. If you are unable to sign in after changing your password, please wait and try again later. If the issue persists, call IT Support Services at 530-898-4357.
Sign in to Outlook on the Web
Begin by signing into your Chico State email on a web browser; this cannot be done from a desktop app or a mobile app.
You can do so by either going to the Chico State homepage (csuchico.edu) and then selecting the Email tab at the top or through the Chico State Portal then selecting Office 365.
Once you can view your inbox, click on the settings gear in the top right corner.
Checking the Settings
The following settings should be checked:
- Mail > Compose and reply: Email Signature
- Mail > Rules: None
- Mail > Sweep: None
- Mail > Junk Email: None
- Mail > Sync Email: Grayed out
- Mail > Forwarding: None
NOTE: If you do not have time to check these settings, your account may be re-compromised as it has not been fully secured. Please prioritize checking these settings as soon as you can get back into your account.
