Quick Links: | Using the Button | Adding the Phish Alert Button | What is the Phish Alert Button? |
Using the Phish Alert Button (PAB)
The Phish Alert Button should be automatically installed across all Outlook clients, including PC and Mac desktop apps, iOS and Android Outlook Apps, and Outlook on the Web. If you do not see it on your device, try adding it manually using the instructions here or contact ITSS.
If you aren't sure if an email can be identified as phishing, look at our article about How to Identify Phishing Emails.
Outlook Desktop App (PC and Mac)
To report an email with the PAB icon at the top of your Outlook client, follow the steps below:
- Open the Outlook desktop client.
- Select or open the email message that you wish to report as phishing. The email that you wish to report must be visible, either in the reading pane or by double-clicking on a message in the message list to open it in another window.
- Click the Phish Alert button displayed at the top-right corner of the Outlook client
- In the drop-down menu that appears on the right side of the screen, click Phish Alert to forward the suspicious email to the Information Security team and delete it from your inbox.
- Once you have reported an email with the PAB, you will see a Success notification.
Outlook on the Web (OWA)
If you use Microsoft 365, follow the steps below to report an email with the PAB:
- Open the email that you would like to report.
- Click the Phish Alert icon.
- In the prompt that opens, click Phish Alert again to report the email.
- After you click Phish Alert again, a message will display. This message will tell you if the email you reported was a simulated phishing attack or if the email will need to be reviewed by your IT team. For an example of a message that you may receive if you successfully report a simulated phishing email, see the screenshot below:
Outlook Mobile App for Android
If you use the Microsoft Outlook app for Android, follow the steps below to report an email:
- Open the email that you would like to report.
- Click the ... button at the top-right corner of the screen. You may have to scroll to the bottom of the list that appears.
- Click the Phish Alert icon.
- In the prompt that opens, click Mobile Phish Alert to report the email.
- After you click Mobile Phish Alert, a message will display that congratulates you for reporting the email. To close this message, click OK.
Outlook Mobile App for Apple iOS
If you use the Microsoft Outlook app for Apple iOS, follow the steps below to report an email:
- Open the email that you would like to report.
- Click the … button at the top-right corner of the screen.
- Click the Phish Alert icon.
- In the prompt that opens, click Phish Alert again to report the email.
- After you click Phish Alert again, a message will display to congratulate you for reporting the email. To close this message, click OK.
Adding the Phish Alert Button to Outlook
The Phish Alert Button should deploy to your Microsoft Outlook apps automatically. However, if you cannot find the button follow these instructions to ensure the app is added to your environment:
- Open the More Apps menu on the left sidebar in your version of Microsoft Outlook
- Click the Add Apps button in the lower right-hand corner of the displayed menu
- On the page that appears, select Built for your org from the list of apps on the left-hand sidebar
- Select the Phish Alert app by KnowBe4, inc.
- Click the Open button in the upper left of the screen that appears.
- Select the Got It button in the lower-right of the button that appears.
If you are using the Outlook Desktop App on Windows, the button should appear in the toolbar. If you are using the Outlook Web Application or the Outlook Desktop App on Mac, the button should appear in the Apps menu in the upper right when viewing a message.
What is the Phish Alert Button?
To better protect the campus community from malicious e-mails, Chico State has deployed the Phish Alert Button, or PAB for short, by KnowBe4. KnowBe4's Phish Alert button gives campus email users a safe and efficient way to forward email threats to the security team for analysis and will automatically remove the phishing message from the user's inbox to prevent future exposure.
For more information about phishing and some of the phishing techniques that threat actors use, look at our article about How to Identify Phishing Emails.
The Phish Alert button will appear on the Microsoft Outlook desktop and Microsoft Outlook mobile clients.
If you are unable to see the Phish Alert button in your Outlook client, please see Adding the Phish Alert Button to Outlook to add the app to your account.
When should you use the Phish Alert button?
You should only report messages you suspect are malicious, like phishing, spear phishing, or whaling emails. Reporting annoying messages, like spam, isn't as efficient.
If you aren't sure if an email can be identified as phishing, look at our article about How to Identify Phishing Emails.
Why should you use the Phish Alert button?
By reporting email as Phish, you are helping to keep Chico State's email environment safe and secure. Phishing emails that are reported using the Phish Alert button are sent to the Information Security Office (ISEC) team for further vulnerability analysis. This helps the Division of IT (DoIT) and ISEC proactively know when phishing attacks are potentially reaching the inboxes of staff, faculty, and students. Once DoIT and ISEC are made aware of email security vulnerabilities, we can better defend the campus against threat actors who are persistently seeking to thwart our security defenses. You are an important part of the process of keeping Chico State safe and secure from compromise. Stop, look, and think!
Still need help? Contact IT Support Services for further assistance with the Phish Alert Button. If you have a security concern, please contact Information Security.
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