5 Ways to Spot a Phishing Email

Cybercriminals still rely on phishing because it works – human error is easier to exploit than technical weaknesses. Train your team to look for these red flags:

1. Suspicious sender details

Phishing messages often come from email addresses that don’t match the purported company name or are full of random characters. Hover over the sender name to see the real address.

2. Generic or mismatched greetings

Legitimate vendors usually address you by name. “Dear customer” or an empty greeting can be a sign of a mass‑sent scam.

3. Urgent or threatening language

Messages claiming your account will be closed or you’ll lose money unless you act immediately are designed to make you panic and click without thinking.

4. Inconsistent URLs

Before clicking any link, hover your mouse to preview the destination. If the domain doesn’t match the sender or looks odd (for example, “microsoft-security-update.com” instead of “microsoft.com”), don’t click.

5. Unexpected attachments or requests

Be wary of invoices, shipping notices, password reset links or file shares you aren’t expecting. Never open attachments from unknown senders. When in doubt, verify the message by contacting the sender through a known good phone number or website.

Encourage employees to report suspicious emails so IT can block similar attacks. Ongoing awareness training and robust email security tools will greatly reduce your risk.