There are a couple of really important things to consider with email.  


1.  It is a very dangerous pathway for various kinds of computer viruses etc., so be really careful opening attachments and educate yourself on good security practices and things to watch out for.


2.  When there is a problem, IT people often need more detail, but we don't need the content of email conversations.  We sometimes need the email header information or the error message email if their is some sort of an automated error email.


Here are some detailed instructions on what we need to troubleshoot an email issue:


Email Scams what to do

Step 1, Check email headers, if in doubt.

Trace an email with its full headers

Step 2, if IT asks download message and forward original message to IT

Download message and attach to an email to send to IT

General Gmail Security Tips

Gmail security tips

Proofpoint Email Security

In February of 2026 City of Carmel-by-the-Sea partnered with Proofpoint to provide more robust security across the email platforms for both Google and Microsoft clouds. As part of this end users will begin seeing an email from Proofpoint which will provide a listing of all quarantined files that have been held by Proofpoint. It is important that this digest is reviewed in a timely manner to avoid losing legitimate emails that have been captured by Proofpoint for review.

Please see attached guide for more specifics on how to interact with the Proofpoint Digest emails.