Phishing and Scams in Your Lakeland Student Email

Unlike many high school email systems which restrict email to and from authorized addresses, Lakeland Student Email is a fully functional email account. You may receive legitimate messages from people or organizations outside of Lakeland, but you may also receive phishing attempts, scams or unwanted email.

Common Scams Targeting Students

College students are common targets for email scammers. Phishing emails often target students with:

Scammers often change the story, but the warning signs are similar: urgency, unexpected opportunities, unusual payment requests or requests for private information. These messages often have urgent or scary subject lines threatening to close accounts, about missing payments or about critical assignments due dates. They include attachments or links to forms asking for your personal information.

Recognize the Warning Signs

Before responding to an unexpected message, take a moment to examine:

• The sender’s name and complete email address.
• Messaging that creates urgency, fear, curiosity or excitement.
• Offers that appear too good to be true.
• Unexpected requests from someone you know.
• Links, attachments and QR codes.
• Requests for passwords, verification codes, money gift cards or personal information.

Ways to Identify Official Communication from Lakeland

Perhaps the most common way scammers try to trick Lakeland students is by posing as a Lakeland employee. Scammers do this by gaining access to a Lakeland Student Email account and then sending phishing emails to other students. Students are often tricked by these emails because they come from accounts with Lakeland in the email address.

You can tell if an email is being sent from an official Lakeland source, such as a faculty member or employee, by looking at the sender’s email address.

Lakeland employees have an email address ending @lakelandcc.edu.

Lakeland students have an email address ending @mail.lakelandcc.edu.

No official communication from Lakeland will come from someone with a student email address. Employees at Lakeland will never ask for your myLakeland password via email or to be entered on a form.

It's Good to be Skeptical

Phishing and scam messages often create a sense of urgency, fear, curiosity or excitement to pressure people into acting quickly. Take a moment before clicking a link, opening an attachment, replying to the message or providing information.

Ask yourself:

• Does it make sense that I received this message?

• Can I verify it using a trusted phone number, website or contact?

• Is the sender pressuring me to act immediately?

• Does this offer seem too good to be true?

• Is the request unusual or asking for private information?

When in doubt, do not interact with the message. Report it as phishing or contact Lakeland’s Help Desk for assistance. Walk-in assistance is available in room C-2060 or call 440.525.7570, email lcchelpdesk@lakelandcc.edu or visit lakelandcc.edu/help.

Reporting Suspicious Email

If you receive an email that is suspicious, do not reply, open an attachment or click a link in the email. Instead, you should report it as a phishing attempt.

Begin by opening the message in your Lakeland Student Email.
Click the three-dot menu next to the “Reply” icon at the top of the message. In the drop-down menu select Report phishing.
Google asks you to confirm the report. Click the Report Phishing Message button to complete the process.

Signs That Your Account May be Compromised

You should contact Lakeland’s Help Desk immediately if you notice:

• Unexpected password-reset or account-change notifications.

• Messages in your “Drafts” folder that you did not create.

• Messages sent from your account without your knowledge.

• Changes in your forwarding, recovery or security settings.

• Other unusual account activity.

These signs may indicate that someone has already gained access to your account. Reporting or deleting the original message is not enough. The Help Desk can secure the account and can involve Lakeland’s Cyber Security team when additional investigation is needed.

Getting Help With Phishing or Scam Email

If you have questions about a suspicious email or need other technology assistance, contact the Help Desk. Walk-in assistance is available in room C-2060 or call 440.525.7570, email lcchelpdesk@lakelandcc.edu or visit lakelandcc.edu/help.