Phishing is when criminals use fake emails to lure you into clicking on them and handing over your
personal information, or installing malware on your device.
When criminals go phishing, you don’t have to take the bait.
It’s easy to avoid a scam (phishing) email when you know what to look for!
The signs can be subtle, but once you recognize a phishing attempt, you can avoid falling for it.
Know the signs of a fake phishing email
- The offer inside is too good to be true
- Language is urgent, alarming, or threatening
- Writing is poorly crafted, with misspellings and bad grammar
- Greetings that are ambiguous or very generic
- Requests to send personal information
- Urgency to click on an unfamiliar hyperlinks or attachment
- Strange or abrupt business requests
- Sending e-mail address doesn’t match the company it’s coming from
What to do if you get a phishing email
If you’re at the office and the email came to your work email address, report it to your IT manager or
security officer as quickly as possible.
If you’re at home and the email came to your personal email address, do not click on any links (even the unsubscribe link) or reply back to the email. Just delete it!
For more information on blocking and reporting phishing attempts, check out this post from the National Cybersecurity Alliance.
