Interpret Email Banner Messages

You may see brief notices at the top of your email messages.  They appear as a line of text with a light-gray background at the very top of the message body.

First Contact safety tip

These messages will appear on emails from senders you haven't interacted with previously or senders with whom you don't regularly interact. Here are the messages:

For a single recipient email: 

You don't often get email from <email address>

Or for multiple recipient email:

Some people who received this email don't often get email from <email address>

If you see this on an email from someone you commonly do correspond with, verify the email address, this could be an imposter.

Unusual Characters safety tip

Sometimes attackers try to use special characters, mathematical symbols or non-standard use of uppercase and lowercase characters in their email address to attempt to appear similar to a legitimate email address. If you receive an email containing these kinds of characters you will see this banner message:

The email address <email address> includes unexpected letters or numbers. We recommend you don't interact with this message.

User Impersonation safety tip

If you receive an email from a sender with an email address similar to one you have interacted with in the past you will see this banner message: 

This sender appears similar to someone who previously sent you email, but may not be that person

Domain Impersonation safety tip

If you receive an email from a sender outside our institution that is attempting to appear as if they are from inside our institution you will see this banner message: 

This sender might be impersonating a domain that's associated with your organization.