Body
Question
- In my list of email messages, I see the word "External" next to the sender's name, what is this?
- In Outlook on my phone, I don't see the sender's name or email address, instead I see the word "External". What is this?
Environment
Messages that are being sent to someone with a bowdoin.edu email address from someone who does not have a bowdoin.edu address will be marked as coming from an external source. the new External tag will help to identify messages that may be being spoofed as if they have a Bowdoin person's name, but are coming from a different email address. Because the message is coming from a non-Bowdoin email address, a tag of External will be added, giving the community another weapon in identifying spam and phishing attempts.
Resolution
Information Technology has enabled a feature provided by Microsoft that adds an "External" tag near the top of each message coming in from off-campus or from a non-Bowdoin email address. If you see a message with a name of someone on campus, but the message is tagged as "External", then that message is most likely a phish and should be reported using the "Report Phishing" button in your Outlook client.
Some examples of how the "External" tag appears can be found in the images below.
If you need further assistance, please contact the Bowdoin College Service Desk