Email Tagging incorporates the use of a tag in the subject line of email messages to allow for easy identification of message categories and improve domain security.
Email Tags are automatically added to the subject line of inbound messages to identify messages that meet certain parameters.
App State currently utilizes four message tags:
- [EXTERNAL]
- [BULK]
- [MARKETING]
- [SOCIAL NETWORK]
[EXTERNAL] Email Tagging
External Email Tagging is where the tag “[External]” is added to the beginning of the subject line for all email messages that were sent from external sources. In other words, messages not from @appstate.edu
The [External] tag is there to help you to realize the message did not originate from an appstate.edu email address. With a message tagged as [External] you need to consider:
- Exercise caution on all external messages, especially with links or attachments you are not expecting.
- Is it from a sender you know? Were you expecting the email? Verify with the sender of the message over the phone if you are unsure or if the email seems a bit off.
- Does the message make sense? A legitimate message would not ask you to provide your credentials to maintain your account access.
[BULK] Email Tagging
[BULK] Email Tagging identifies and flags messages sent by marketing groups to users in bulk.
- often these messages are from reputable senders that pass SPAM filtering
- These messages could be wanted by the end-user or could be seen as SPAM
- These messages will often have an unsubscribe option
[MARKETING] Email Tagging
[Marketing] Email Tagging identifies advertising messages sent by professional marketing groups.
- These messages are used for promoting products and services
- Marketing messages are not considered spam, but end-users may not want to receive them
[SOCIAL NETWORK] Email Tagging
[SOCIAL NETWORK] Email Tagging identifies messages from social networks, dating websites, and forums.
- Examples include alerts from: LinkedIn, for jobs that you may be interested in, CNET forums, Facebook, YouTube
Email Tagging Questions and Answers:
Q: Are all [EXTERNAL] tagged messages dangerous?
A: No. Many legitimate messages come from external sources. However, a common phishing method is via Email. The [EXTERNAL] tag helps bring attention to email messages that are not from the University.
Q: Can I opt-out of or turn off message tagging?
A: No, message tagging is a service to help App State users identify and manage email and protect our email domain.
Q: I received an email that was tagged but it came from a system my department uses on a regular basis. Is there a way to get an exemption and remove a tag from a message?
A: It is the intent that all external messages should have the [External] tag. However, in some cases it may be possible to configure the service to send email as appstate.edu. Please enter a Tech Support Ticket at https://tech.appstate.edu for assistance.
Q: When I reply to an external message will the recipient see the external tag?
A: No, the external tag is not visible to the recipient.