UW-Madison’s Office of Campus Information Security and the Division of Information Technology WiscMail team released methods on how to identify an e-mail scam Wednesday in light of an increase of electronic scams.

The university suggests five different ways to avoid a scam, such as being aware of any formal institution that asks students to release any type of private information. Personal data could consist of Social Security numbers, NetIDs or certain health information.

Other advice recommended students look out for any unusual “from” or “reply-to” addresses. DoIT does not use any “.com” addresses to send e-mail.

Students are advised not to open any e-mails from such addresses.

In addition to being wary of strange addresses, DoIT suggests looking for a digital signature to ensure legitimacy of a sender.

Above all, students should not reply to any e-mail that appears to be suspicious. Students can contact the DoIT Help Desk with any questions.