Don't Get Hooked: How to Spot a Phishing Email

When hackers send out phishing emails, you don’t want to get “hooked”. According to the Department of Homeland Security, millions of people are targets of phishing scams each day. We want to keep your emails safe.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of cybercrime that uses emails – disguised as coming from a person or organization you trust – in order to lure you into clicking a fraudulent link or providing access to sensitive information.

Why are you at risk?

Hackers may be interested in targeting your intellectual property, financial account information, or payment card data; and if one employee falls for a phishing attack, your entire system may be at risk.

How to spot a Phishing Email

It’s important to stay vigilant and keep an eye out for these red flags:

• The email includes a request for your username and password, either by replying directly to the email or by clicking on a link that takes you to a site where you’re asked to input your information. No one in your organization should ever ask you for your password.
• The email appears to have been sent from the HR or IT department, but something doesn’t look quite right.
• There are grammatical errors in the email or subject line.
• You do not know the sender, and the email has an unexpected attachment.
• The email contains email addresses that don’t match between the header and the body, are misspelled (like @gmaill.com), or have unusual formats (@company-othersite.com).
• The email includes links or email addresses that, when you hover over them, list a different destination than described.
• They try to create a sense of urgency in order to get you to respond.

Your cybersecurity matters. If you suspect that an email is a phishing email, do not open any links or attachments in the email and notify your IT or Information Security department immediately.