How do I know this ISU Emergency Alert is legit?
When you receive an ISU Emergency Alert, you can verify that it is a legitimate notification by following the steps outlined in this article.
Before You Begin
This article discusses notifications sent through the ISU Emergency Alert system. This system is designed to notify campus in the event of an emergency situation that threatens the life and safety of those at Illinois State University. For more information, including details on how to sign up and change your notification options, refer to 1501: Understanding the ISU Emergency Alert system at Illinois State University.
Is this legit?
When you receive an ISU Emergency Alert, you might question its legitimacy. Illinois State and the ISU Credit Union have been targeted by phishing emails and phone call scams in the past, so it is natural to question the authenticity of any notification that claims to have been sent by the University.
Compare the Message with Multiple Sources
When you receive an ISU Emergency Alert, compare the content of the message to other copies of the message you may have received. This is the best way to verify the authenticity of an ISU Emergency Alert you receive.
For example, if you received the message as both an email and an SMS text message on your cell phone, compare the two messages. If they have the same content, then you can be confident the message is legitimate.
Shortly after a message is sent by the ISU Emergency Alert system, it will also be posted to the Illinois State home page at http://www.ilstu.edu/. You can compare the message you received to the message posted on the University home page to verify its authenticity.
What can I expect?
When trying to determine if a message is legitimate or not, it is helpful to know what to expect in terms of what the message will look like, what content will be provided, and where the message was sent from. There are several message characteristics you can look at which may help you in determining the authenticity of an ISU Emergency Alert.
You Will Receive Email ISU Emergency Alerts
You will automatically receive an email message each time an ISU Emergency Alert is sent. All members of Illinois State are automatically signed up to receive this notification. You can add more contact methods, including phone numbers, SMS text, and an alternative email address as well so that you are notified in several ways.
Always the Same Sender/From Address for Email Alerts
ISU Emergency Alert email messages will always be sent From: the following address:
emalert@ilstu.edu <conf-#########@everbridge.net>
(where ######### is a number)
This email says everbridge.net because Everbridge is the name of the security company that is hosting the ISU Emergency Alerts system for Illinois State.
Always the Same Phone Number for Voice Alerts
ISU Emergency Alert phone calls will always be placed from the same phone number:
- 309-438-8911
This phone number may be formatted differently depending on your phone.
Always the Same Code for Text Alerts
ISU Emergency Alert text messages will always come from the same provider code:
- 89361
This phone number may be formatted differently depending on your phone.
Acknowledgment Requested
The message might request that you acknowledge that you have received the notification.
- Email messages will sometimes include a link that says Please click here to acknowledge receipt of this message.
- Text messages will sometimes ask that you reply with the word 'Yes' to indicate you have received the message.
- Phone messages will sometimes ask that you press '1' to indicate that you have received the message.
When you acknowledge the message you received, it prevents additional messages about the same problem from being sent to you by the same contact method. For example, if you acknowledge an email you received, you will not get a second or third email for the same ISU Emergency Alert. Acknowledging an ISU Emergency Alert also helps the University evaluate the system in terms of its performance and reliability.