One of the most common cyber threats today is phishing emails. Responsible for more than 90% of data breaches all over the world, phishing attacks can cause huge losses to your organization. Technical tools have evolved, including email filters and advanced software tools, but inspired by all these, phishing attacks are on the rise. So, it has become the need of the hour to learn how to recognize phishing emails for the sake of both personal and corporate cybersecurity.
What to look for in a phishing email? What are the characteristics of a phishing email? If you have all these questions in mind, you have come to the right place. Read on to keep all your confusion at bay.
You receive an email from a bank, a social media platform, or maybe a third-party vendor. It appears to be from the most trustworthy source, but in reality, it is just spam mail trying to trick you into transferring funds or sharing sensitive data. It may have malicious links attached to it, may ask you to download infected PDFs, and can even ask you to share credentials or passwords.
You fall victim to a phishing attack. The outcome? Identity theft, financial loss, data breaches, and so on. You have a well-established business, you click on a malicious link attached to a phishing email, and your entire system and network may be compromised. Yes, that’s how scary it is.
So, it is crucial to have proper phishing awareness and simulation programs in your organization, so that employees can spot phishing emails before they cause any damage.
In most cases, the phishing emails contain generic greetings and salutations. For instance, the message may begin with something generic like “Dear user” or ‘Dear member’. In legitimate messages, there is usually a personalized note for you. So, if you find any vague greetings, this may be a red signal, and you must be cautious before clicking on any link or opening any PDFs attached to the mail.
The phishing emails usually contain many grammatical or spelling errors. If you notice poor grammar or awkwardness in the message, it may be a warning sign. Professionals proofread the conversation before they send it to individuals, and in spam emails, it is not the case. So, if you find strange language and tone, be careful, as these are big warning signs.
The attacker tries to create a fake sense of urgency, like they may send messages such as ‘click now to avoid losing your account’, or something like suspicious activity detected-verify now’. With these urgent or unusual requests, they try to trick individuals into taking quick action. If you receive any such mail with such messages, it is a warning sign, and think twice before taking any action.
You receive mail with links or attachments, don’t just click on them right away. Rather, you should hover over the links to find out where they lead, and if you find the URL to be suspicious or something unusual, it is a warning sign. Also, the attachments may contain malware, and you must be cautious if you have received unsolicited attachments with extensions like .exe, .scr, or .zip.
In most phishing attacks, the attackers spoof email addresses, and at the very first glance, you may find it to be legitimate. However, if you take a closer look, you may find inconsistencies in the email address.
For instance, it may seem like you have received an urgent email from PayPal, the email address is [email protected] instead of [email protected]. So, you must take a closer look at the address, and if you find any such slight errors or misspellings, it is a big warning sign that the mail is spam.
One of the very important characteristics of a phishing email is a request for personal or financial information. No legitimate organization will ask you for any sensitive information like bank details, card numbers, or email ID passwords.
If you have received an email with any such requests, it is a big warning sign of a phishing email. Also, you must not share any confidential details unless you are 100% sure of the recipient’s authenticity.
Does the email claim that you have won prize money? Or, maybe it says that you have cracked a job that seems too good to be true, or maybe you have inherited huge money. Any emails claiming such tempting rewards can be phishing emails.
You have received an email, and you suspect it to be a phishing email. You must keep the following points in mind:
As of now, the good news is that you know how to recognize phishing emails in today’s digital age. Whether you are an individual using email for personal reasons or you are using it for professional communication with other employees of your community, being aware of cybersecurity is crucial. You must always keep the characteristics of a phishing email in mind, and when in doubt, don’t click.
Cybercriminals are constantly adapting, but so can you. The more familiar you become with what to look for in a phishing email, the safer your digital life will be.
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