Atatürk University scam email: webmail update

Reported as phishing

This email was reported as phishing in October 2026. It claims to come from: Atatürk University. It was aimed at Turkey and written in Turkish.

This email was reported as phishing. It uses the Atatürk University name and look, but it did not come from Atatürk University. If you have an account, Atatürk University is not asking you to act through this email.

This email pretends to come from the webmail team of Atatürk University in Turkey. It is written in Turkish and says the email team must finish an access update to make sign-in safer. A single button asks you to update your access, and the text warns that ignoring the message could cut off your mailbox. The button leads to an unrelated website, and the footer suddenly switches to Portuguese, which a real university notice is unlikely to do.

A message from your own university feels routine, so students and staff click without thinking, and the threat of losing email adds pressure. The best tell is the sender address: it is not on the university's domain. The Portuguese footer under a Turkish email is a second giveaway. Real IT teams do not ask you to update access through a button in an unexpected email.

• Aimed at: Turkey
• Month reported: October 2026
• Email language: Turkish

What the email looks like

Re-typed from the original with personal details removed. This is not the original email. This was a button in the original email. Here it is only a picture of the text and does nothing.

Subject line

• E-posta Erişimi Güncellemesi Gerekli

Red flags

• Sender address is not on the university's domain
• Threat that your mailbox access will be cut
• Login button leads to an unrelated website
• Footer is in Portuguese ("Todos os direitos reservados") while the email is in Turkish
• No name, department or contact details

Links in the email (shown as plain text)

Links are defanged: "hxxp" and "[.]" stop them from working. Never retype them or copy them into your browser.

What to do

1. Do not click the update button or any link in the email, and do not reply.
2. Do not open attachments. Never type a password, card number or code on a page you reached from this email.
3. If you are unsure, open the university webmail yourself by typing its address or using the official app, not through the email.
4. Students and staff can forward the email to the university IT help desk through its official channels.
5. Mark the email as phishing or spam in your mail app, then delete it.
6. If you already entered your details, change that password now and turn on two-step sign-in. If you shared card or bank details, contact your bank.

How to report it

In your mail app, use "Report phishing" or "Report junk" so the app learns to block similar emails. You can also forward the email to the real company's abuse or security team, using an address from its official website. If you lost money, report it to your bank and to your local police.

More scam email examples

• German police: Fake summons - answer within 72 hours
• Spotify: Payment problem / update your payment details
• Your email provider: "Your email password will expire in 24 hours" - keep current password

These emails did not come from the companies or services they name. Brand names belong to their owners and are shown only to help you recognise the scam.