In the world of computers, fraudulent and harmful emails are known as “phishing emails,” and they pose a significant threat to network security. Because they can be so detrimental to your organization, all staff should know how to spot phishing emails. After all, your employees are your organization’s first line of defense, no matter how strong your security measures are.
Your staff should look for these seven things to determine whether an email or a party crasher is legitimate.
Strengthen your organization’s defenses against advanced cyberattacks, like ransomware, by elevating phishing awareness with these expert tips and actionable insights.
Table of Contents
7 Ways to Protect Yourself from Phishing Emails
1. Were You Expecting the Message?
Make sure the email is something you were expecting to get. Unsolicited requests, invoices, and links should be suspicious.
2. Did You Check the Link?
Hover your mouse over every link before you click it. You will see a small popup that tells you where the link goes. Make sure the link goes to the correct place before you click.
One way to always be safe is to navigate to the website yourself in your browser and don’t click the link at all.
3. Did You Check the Email Address?
Double-check the email address the email is coming from. Sometimes fake emails will use addresses similar to legitimate sites (e.g., “teaI.tech.com” instead of “tealtech.com”).
4. Is the Company Name Spelled Correctly?
Did they misspell my company name or make other mistakes in the email? Do they use a generic name?
5. Do You Recognize the Sender?
Do you know the person sending the email? Is this the type of email they usually send?
Look at the signature of the email and make sure it matches their usual signature. If their identity is in doubt, call them directly with a known number to verify the authenticity of the email.
6. Is There Urgency in the Messaging?
Phishing emails will try to make you click without reading.
Check to see if the email implies urgency or extreme importance. For example: “IMMEDIATE ATTENTION – YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE CLOSED.”
7. Are there Typos??
Look for misspellings and poor grammar. Many people who send phishing emails don’t speak English as a first language.
Just keep in mind that as generative AI grows this factor will likely become less relevant. Bad actors are already using AI in phishing attacks to make them more effective. They can easily fix spelling and grammar issues as well as tailor phishing attacks with AI.
Strengthen your organization’s defenses against advanced cyberattacks, like ransomware, by elevating phishing awareness with these expert tips and actionable insights.
Real-life Phishing Email Example
Sometimes, a legitimate email may have one of the above. However, by looking at a combination of the above, you can usually tell a phishing email from a normal one.
Attached below is an example of a real phishing email, with the suspicious features we used to identify it pointed out. Take a look at how we applied the tips mentioned above.
Stay safe.