How to Watch Out For Phishing Emails

As more people are working from home, targeted attempts of infecting and infiltrating corporations with harmful computer virus, malware and online scamming towards individuals are on the rise. 

What Are Phishing Emails and What Should You Look For? 

Be Aware of Phishing Emails

Fake emails are a common method used by cybercriminals. They pretend to come from a credible sender with the intention of getting you to reveal information that may be used in an attack directed at you or your company. They could be trying to obtain critical business information, passwords and codes, or other kinds of personal details. 

Easy to Fake the Sender Identity of an Email

A typical phishing method is to use a similar-looking domain to pretend the email is sent by a party you are familiar with or trust. Hackers may acquire similar-looking domains to mask their phishing attempts, and the emails can be highly sophisticated and professional, giving you the impression that it's genuine.

By applying this method, attackers can configure the domain to pass through common protection measures implemented by IT departments to filter out malicious and harmful emails.

To ensure that you are not falling victim of such attacks, you should carefully check the sender address in the email and verify that it’s coming from a valid domain.

What to Look For

Take the extra step and take double check the actual sender address in the email. You should also be aware of strange or unusual requests (such as asking for your username and/or password), attempts of creating fear, suspicious links or attachments, or spelling mistakes or poor/inaccurate language. 

Hyperlinks Are Easy to Fake

If the email contains hyperlinks, you should make sure the link directs you to the destination it claims. To do so, you can move the mouse pointer above the text or image that is hyperlinked, to see the destination URL it links to. Do not click on any suspicious links as they might lead you to dangerous sites containing viruses or malware. 

Be Vigilant!

It is easy to avoid phishing attempts by having a healthy level of skepticism. Always report any suspicious emails to your IT department or email provider, check the domain, hover your mouse over hyper links to ensure that they link to a credible site, and be careful about giving out personal information.