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• Take a moment: Take your time to spot the signs of a possible scam. Don’t feel pressured to react quickly. Think before you act.
• Check the sender: Check the sender of a message. Familiarize yourself with your email programme – particularly with smartphone apps, it is not always obvious which email address a message comes from.
• Ask for clarification: If in doubt, contact the person who allegedly sent the message directly, the relevant secretariat or the Information Security Office. To do so, use the official contact details on the 91�ֿ�BAF website. Do not reply to the address or number in the message.
• Do not disclose any sensitive data: Never disclose internal information, voucher codes or passwords in an email. Remember that the URZ will never ask you for your password.

Scams designed to trick you into revealing valuable data often use one or more of the following techniques:

• Authority: Does the message claim to come from an official source, such as your supervisor? Criminals often pose as important individuals or organisations to put pressure on you to do what they want.
• Urgency: Are you being pressured to act quickly, for example due to a time-sensitive ‘emergency’? Fraudsters create a sense of urgency to prevent you from thinking clearly and to push you into making hasty decisions.
• Scarcity: Are you being offered something that is only available in limited quantities, such as a piano, concert tickets or tools? Arousing fear of missing out on a good opportunity is a technique designed to make you act quickly.
• Consistency: Have you ever replied to a simple email such as “Do you have a moment?” only to be asked later for urgent help or a favor? Once we’ve agreed to something small, we tend to remain consistent and comply with larger requests as well. Scammers exploit this to gradually persuade you to say yes.