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Phishing email in circulation: Never reveal your password

On Friday 7 June, a number of employees received a phishing email from the email address ‘IThelpdesk@au.dk’ trying to persuade the recipient into revealing their password. If you think an email may be a phishing attempt, please contact your local IT support team or the information security department.

On Friday 7 June, a number of employees at the university received an email from the sender ‘IT-support IThelpdesk@au.dk’. In the email, the recipient is encouraged to click a link in order to migrate to ‘Microsoft Outlook web Portal’.

Please be aware that this is a so-called phishing email, even though it may look real because of the sender address. A phishing email is an attempt to gain access to your personal data by persuading you to reveal your password. If you have clicked the link in the email and entered your AU password, you must change your password immediately and contact your local IT support team. 

The email looks like this:



Do not confuse the phishing email with emails about Office365

Please note that AU is in the process of moving AU mailboxes to the cloud and introducing two-factor authentication to the email and calendar system as part of the implementation of Microsoft Office365. In connection with this, one or more emails from the email address ’No-reply, Aarhus Universitet noreply@au.dk have been sent to employees at AU.

See an example of such an email:



Typical phishing characteristics

  • Requests that you act now – before your account is closed, before money is withdrawn etc.
  • Requests to disclose confidential information (for example, passwords and username) via a link in the email or by answering the email. 
  • Requests to open attached files.
  • Links which appear to be official or familiar at first glance, but which reveal a different destination when you move your mouse over them.
  • A sender address which, on closer inspection, is revealed not to be official. 
  • For example, Aarhus University <aarhusuniversity12@gmail.com>

If you fall for a phishing email

If you have inadvertently sent your password to a third party, you must change your password immediately and contact your local IT support team, and they will help you contain the damage. 

Unsure about anything?

If you think an email may be a phishing attempt, please contact your local IT support team.