What should you do if you receive an unsolicited email requesting personal information?

What should you do if you receive an unsolicited email requesting personal information?

• A. Do not respond or provide any information
• B. Provide information via secure channel
• C. Reply with a verification code they request
• D. Open attachments to verify content

Answer: (A)

Unsolicited emails that ask for personal information are phishing attempts. The safest response is not to respond or provide any information. Engaging with the sender can expose you to identity theft, financial loss, or malware, since you’re unlikely to have verified the sender’s legitimacy and the request is designed to trick you. Instead, delete the message or report it as phishing to your email provider or your organization, and verify any genuine requests by contacting the institution through official channels you already use. If you already shared information, change passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and monitor your accounts for suspicious activity. Providing information via a supposed secure channel isn’t reliable here because the request’s legitimacy hasn’t been verified. Replying with a verification code is dangerous because it hands over access credentials to the attacker. Opening attachments can expose you to malware or ransomware.

Unsolicited emails that ask for personal information are phishing attempts. The safest response is not to respond or provide any information. Engaging with the sender can expose you to identity theft, financial loss, or malware, since you’re unlikely to have verified the sender’s legitimacy and the request is designed to trick you.

Instead, delete the message or report it as phishing to your email provider or your organization, and verify any genuine requests by contacting the institution through official channels you already use. If you already shared information, change passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and monitor your accounts for suspicious activity.

Providing information via a supposed secure channel isn’t reliable here because the request’s legitimacy hasn’t been verified. Replying with a verification code is dangerous because it hands over access credentials to the attacker. Opening attachments can expose you to malware or ransomware.