"Report Phishing” Button Makes Reporting Suspicious Messages Easier

Like many large organizations, Ohio State email accounts continue to be targets of an increasing number of email phishing attacks. We block many of these attacks before they can reach you, but cybercriminals are constantly devising ways to elude our defense systems. Users like you assist us in detecting even more emails by reporting suspicious messages so we can block them before they target other users.

Now we’re making it even easier to report malicious messages for OCIO, ODEE, ES and OCIO-managed IT customers. We’re excited to announce that starting on Wednesday, June 21, we will begin to deploy a “Report Phishing” button to users using Microsoft Outlook and Windows operating systems. This button automates reporting, so you can more easily report suspicious messages.

The “Report Phishing” button will be on the far right on Microsoft Outlook home menu ribbon and features a black fish, red hook, and the text “Report Phishing.” 

  • When you receive an email you think is phishing, clicking the “Report Phishing” button will package the email with the header, send it in to report-phish@osu.edu and delete the message from your inbox. You will see a popup confirming the report has been sent.
  • Ohio State occasionally conducts phishing education campaigns to gauge our susceptibility to attacks and measure user awareness. If you report one of these messages, the pop up will display a message congratulating you on recognizing the message as phishing.
  • Did you know that you can access LANDESK Workspaces and retrieve these updates now, at your convenience, and avoid any interruptions that could occur from an automatic update? Get acquainted with LANDESK Workspaces by reading our Knowledge Base (ocio.osu.edu/KB05318).

  • Macintosh users are currently out of scope, but the Security Awareness Team is working with Apple to provide similar solution in the future for OSX operating systems.

This is a significant step toward keeping user accounts and the information entrusted to the university more secure.

If you have any questions contact the Enterprise Security Awareness and Training Team via email or by phone at 614-292-3215.