Spotting a Phish – The Essentials.

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Email is one of the most common tools used by cyber criminals.

This is because they can easily target thousands of people at once, to try and steal valuable information from unsuspecting users.

But do you know how to identify a phishing email?

Being able to spot the tell-tale signs of a Phish can protect both you and our organisation.

First, it’s important that you always check the address of the sender.

Phishing emails can often look, legitimate appearing to come from someone you recognise.

However, if you look closely, you may spot that some letters have been changed for numbers or the address after the ‘at’ symbol may be different from what you would expect.

Next, you should look critically at the subject line.

This is the first opportunity that cyber criminals have to grab your attention, and they will often try to provoke an emotional response.

Is the email subject indicating that it’s a reply to something you didn’t send?

This can be a tell-tale sign of a phishing email.

Now look at the greeting.

You should be wary of emails that start with a generic greeting, instead of using your name.

As cyber criminals often target multiple users with the same email, your name won’t be used in the greeting.

This is another sign of a phishing email.

Finally, it’s important to examine the content of the email.

Does it have unusually poor spelling or grammar?

If so, this can be a warning sign.

Cyber criminals will often try to trick you into making a bad decision, such as clicking a link or opening an attachment.

This is usually accompanied by a sense of urgency.

You’ll be told that something needs to be done immediately, to avoid a negative consequence or to gain something of value.

That’s why it’s important to be careful of links and attachments in emails, especially if the email has been sent by someone you don’t know – they could contain a nasty surprise.

Follow these steps to help identify phishing scams.

And remember to trust your instincts.

If any part of an email looks suspicious, or if it appears too good to be true, then you could be the target of a Phishing attack.