Staying Safe Online · Email & Message Tricks · Lesson 5 of 5

Challenge: Maya's First Week Inbox

Help Maya sort a week of odd emails at her first office job.

Monday: the boss needs gift cards

Maya just started her first office job at a small dental clinic. She has a new work email, and it fills up fast.

On Monday morning, an email arrives. The name says Dr. Patel, her boss. The address is drpatel.clinic@gmail.com, but the clinic uses its own addresses.

It says: 'I'm in a meeting and can't talk. I need you to buy five $100 gift cards for a client right now. Send me the codes. Keep this between us.'

Maya wants to make a good first impression. She isn't sure what to do.

Wednesday: the shipping fee

On Wednesday, Maya gets an email that says 'Your package could not be delivered. Pay a $2.50 fee to reschedule.' There's a big yellow button that says Pay now.

The clinic does order supplies. Her coworker says, 'It's only $2.50, just pay it.'

Thursday: the password link

On Thursday, an email says the clinic's email password expires today. It has a link that says 'Keep my password'.

Maya remembers not to click first. She hovers over the link. The address at the bottom of the screen is:

microsoft.com.mail-renew.net/keep

Friday: cleaning up

By Friday, Maya has a little pile of fake emails. She uses Outlook at work. She wants to help stop them, not just delete them.

She also tells Dr. Patel about Monday's gift card email. He thanks her and asks the office to watch for more.