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report phishing to us by email

US-CERT is collecting phishing email messages and web site locations so that we can help people avoid becoming victims of phishing scams.

You can report phishing to us by sending email to phishing-report@us-cert.gov


Forward the message, including the headers.

  • You can forward a message without double clicking to open it in a new window. Highlight the email in the message list of your inbox and follow the directions for your particular mail client:
    In Netscape/Mozilla/Thunderbird Mail
    • Select View > Headers > All
    • Select Message > Forward As > Inline
    • Address the forwarded message to phishing-report@us-cert.gov

    In Outlook Express
    • Forward the message As an attachment.
    • Address the forwarded message to phishing-report@us-cert.gov

    In Mulberry
    • Select Message > Forward. Select the option Include Headers in quote. Click the Forward button.
    • Address the forwarded message to phishing-report@us-cert.gov

    If you are using an alternative to these email clients, please consult your documentation for instructions on how to forward messages with headers.


Other methods of reporting phishing email
  • In Outlook Express, you can create a new message and drag and drop the phishing email into the new message. Address the message to phishing-report@us-cert.gov and send it.

  • In Outlook Express you can also open the email message* and select File > Properties > Details. The email headers will appear. You can copy these as you normally copy text and include it in a new message to phishing-report@us-cert.gov.

  • If you cannot forward the email message, at a minimum, please send the URL of the phishing web site.
* If the suspicious mail in question includes a file attachment, it is safer to simply highlight the message and forward it. Some configurations, especially in Windows environments, may allow the execution of arbitrary code upon opening and viewing a malicious email message.

Learn More About Phishing

The following documents and web sites can help you learn more about phishing and how to protect yourself against phishing attacks.