Protect Against Security Threats

Protect Against Security Threats:

If you receive a suspicious email

  • Do not reply, even if you recognize the sender as a well-known business or financial institution. If you have an account with this institution, contact them directly and ask them to verify the information included in the email.
  • Do not click any links provided in these emails (or cut and paste them into a browser). This may download viruses to your computer, or at best, confirm your email address to phishers.
  • Do not open any attachments. If you receive an attachment you are not expecting, confirm with the senders that they did indeed send the message and meant to send an attachment.
  • Do not enter your personal information or passwords on an untrusted Web site or form referenced in this email. 
  • Report any suspicious messages that claim to be from Brooklyn Public Schools or contain a suspicious attachment or link to  [email protected]
  • Delete the message.

If you responded to a suspicious email

  • Contact your financial institution. Report the content of your email and your actions to the security or fraud department.
  • File a police report. Contact the your local police department.

If you have already provided your IT Account information in response to a phishing email, your account may be disabled (all accounts that display signs of suspicious activity will be frozen). It is critical that you:

  • Contact [email protected] to report the incident and get your IT Account re-instated (if needed).
  • Have your school account passwords changed.
  • Change the passwords to all online accounts that may have been compromised.
  • Report the message to the Federal Trade Commission at [email protected] or through their online form and to any organization impersonated in the email. You can also report the message to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at [email protected], a group of Internet Service Providers, security vendors, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies dedicated to fighting phishing.

Never email your personal or financial information

Email is not a secure method of communicating sensitive information. Remember that legitimate financial institutions never ask for sensitive information via email.

Review your credit card and bank account statements

The best way to monitor activity on your financial accounts is to carefully inspect your credit report every year. Federal law requires the nation’s major credit reporting companies to give everyone a free credit report every 12 months. Once you have your report, look for inaccurate information or unfamiliar accounts.

Check your bank and credit card accounts for any suspicious activity or unauthorized charges. Sign up for online statements if you do not already receive them to get the latest information.

Use caution with tax information

From the Internal Revenue Service: "Scams can be sophisticated and take many forms. We urge people to protect themselves and use caution when viewing emails, receiving telephone calls or getting advice on tax issues. [...] Keep your personal information safe and secure. Taxpayers should protect their computers and only give out their Social Security numbers when absolutely necessary."

Use email etiquette

To ensure that your email isn't mistaken for an infected message:

  • Always include a clear, descriptive subject for your email.
  • Consider using a signature, your name and contact information, on your email.
  • Always include a mention of the attachment and a description of why you are sending it in the body of your email.

Use security best practices

  • Use a unique password for each of your online accounts. Many people reuse a favorite password for multiple accounts, but if one of these accounts is compromised, they will all be at risk of data breach.
  • Run a full virus scan of your computer every month. To detect the latest viruses, you must use a current version of your anti-virus software and keep it updated.Brooklyn Public Schools does this on school owned devices.
  • Update your device's operating system with the latest security patches, including your mobile operating system. Use Windows Update (Windows) or Apple Software Update (Macintosh) and enable automatic updates to receive security patches as soon as they are released.  Brooklyn Public Schools does this on school owned devices.
  • Keep your software updated, especially your Web browser, mobile operating system, Adobe Reader...