Cyber-attacks come in a variety of formats and with the advancement of technology it continues to improve. Phishing is a common type of cyber-attack used by cyber criminals, and according to Proofpoint’s threat report, 75% of organizations experienced a Phishing attack in 2020 (Proofpoint 2021 state of the Phish report).
Cyber criminals found a higher success rate in achieving their goals thorough email phishing rather than any other approach. This is due to the lack of awareness and knowledge on how to identify legitimate emails from fake ones. There are many ways that could help organizations in decreasing the numbers of successful phishing attacks and educating their employees on this topic is one of them. Being able to spot a phishing email is very helpful to achieve that goal.
So, what are phishing emails and how do you spot them?
What is Phishing?
First, we must define phishing, phishing is a malicious method used by cyber criminals to collect confidential data from users. The attackers pose as a trustworthy individual or organization in order to get the victims to trust them and disclose their personal information. Phishing attacks may be used for financial extortion, identity theft, and gaining unauthorized access to the victim’s account. Email phishing is one form of phishing used by cyber criminals.
Unfortunately, 96% of cyber-attacks are delivered through email (Verizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations report). One way cyber criminals can attack: A cybercriminal sends a phishing email to a victim, when the unsuspecting individual opens the email and clicks any link or downloads any attachment within the email, malicious malwares or key loggers are downloaded onto the users device and begin stealing the users information and could possibly spread to other users on the network! Cyber criminals use eye catching words such as Urgent! Attention! Important! this way they insure they grasp their victim’s attention and entice them into clicking on malicious links or opening malicious files.
Especially, with the recent global pandemic they know what society is looking out for, which is constant updates.
Therefore, the number of people who got hacked skyrocketed in this period. Many suffered from this and exposed their personal, financial, and medical data, in particular organizations. Last year, the number of business email compromise (BEC) attempts witnessed a significant 15% increase (Abnormal Security 2020 Quarterly Q3 BEC report). This proves the importance of educating your employees on how to be alert and distinguish phishing emails from authentic ones.
But how could you spot a malicious email from the hundreds you receive? Listed below are the top 5 ways to do so and which could help you avert future troubles.
5 Ways to Identify a Phishing Email:
1- ALWAYS check the sender domain before interacting with the email. This is one of the easiest giveaways to the hacker’s scheme. If the email is truly from your bank, then you would receive it from a private domain not a public one such as @gmail.com or @hotmail.com.
2- Spelling mistakes and grammatical error are evident in phishing emails. When an organization sends out an official email to its employees or customers they run it through a spell-checking tool to verify before sending. Which is why, when you see multiple errors in an email do not overlook it as simple mistakes, instead take it as a sign to not interact with it any further.
3- In phishing emails, malicious links and attachments are a staple. This way when you click on them you singlehandedly corrupted your cyber privacy. These attachments download malwares that can hack into your system and steal your personal data. So, do not be hasty on clicking anything until you determine the authenticity of it.
4- When you receive an email stating you won a prize or free subscription to something you never interacted with or visited, that can indicate the legitimacy of the sender. Also, when you start receiving newsletters for something you did not sign up for then it is a high chance of it being a phishing email.
5- Cyber criminals will most likely try to scare the victim into providing them the information they need by sending an important email that required immediate action for example it can be an email disguised as their bank or place of work, they do so by stating “Warning! Account will be closed if not…” and etc. This will urge the recipient in following the warnings afraid of any damage without thoroughly looking through the email checking for potential flaws.
Bonus: You could also implement a phishing simulation solution such as PhishGuard that trains your employees specifically about one of the most fundamental security threats, and to educate users on how to respond to the growing phishing security risks! PhishGuard also enables periodic assessment, measurement, and monitoring of your employees’ readiness to detect phishing scams.
In Conclusion:
Email phishing is one of the many ways to be taken advantage online, but after educating yourself around this topic, this could help in reducing the chances of being a future victim to this type of attack. Always be cautious when opening and interacting with any email you receive. This could spare you from future inconveniences.
Think, before you click!
Share this article:
Popular

Identity Access Management (IAM) | What is it?
With Digital Transformation, remote work acceptance and e-services becoming ubiquitous, Businesses’ and organizations – of all sizes – main concern is to keep its Information Technology (IT) up and running around the clock. This requires its various ingredients such as database and servers to be secure. This means they are always on the lookout for ways to achieve the most efficient way to be safe and secure. Typically, organizations follow basic protocols and use passwords to control and protect their digital assets from unauthorized access, however, statistics reveal that globally %58 of CISOs agree that human error is the number ...
3rd Apr 2022
Insider Threats in Cyber Security
Organizations tend to only focus on setting cyber security measures for potential threats and intrusions made by external circumstances. Unfortunately, they undermine the possibilities of a trusted employee launching a cyber-attack against them. This negligence resulted in 34% of businesses being affected by an insider threat on a yearly basis. This cyber security risk does not only leave the organization vulnerable but is also viewed as an easy target for internal and external threats. Whoever has authorized access to sensitive data, either it being an employee or a partner (which sometimes referred to as Third-party risk), is considered trusted and ...
3rd Mar 2022
6 Advantages of utilizing SMS Marketing
Many businesses are constantly seeking ways to interact with and attract new customers. Their joint objective is to reach a wider audience. To do so, communication is key. There are many ways for businesses to communicate with their audience, either by email, social media, or adverts, but the most beneficial marketing method, that is often overlooked, is SMS (text messages). Currently, SMS is typically utilized for personal communication, but it has proved to be an important marketing method that helps boost businesses in today’s mobile-centered society. In 2021, up to 3.8 billion people own smartphones and 60% of them read ...
1st Feb 2022
Juice Jacking: The Threats of Public USB Charging Stations
A shared scenario between many is being in public with a dying mobile device, franticly looking for a charger. When coincidently you find a free charging station calling out your name. You find a solution, but have you ever thought about the risks of using these public charging stations? The accessibility of these public USB charging stations is convenient but connecting your device to one can put you in a vulnerable position. With just plugging in your smartphone or laptop, you’re potentially opening up an opportunity for a threat actor to steal data or install malware all without your knowledge. This is known as Juice Jacking. Unfortunately, many are unaware ...
2nd Jan 2022
Phishing Emails: Why do we Fall for them?
Have you ever received an email wondering if it is legitimate or not, but then decide to click on it because the advertisement or the urgent warning catches your eye? Well, many have been in that situation with some consequently becoming victims to a phishing trap. Around 96% of phishing attempts are deployed via email and 74% of organizations suffered from a successful phishing attack (Proofpoint state of the Phish report 2021). These numbers will continue to rise if we don’t educate ourselves on phishing emails. Over time, cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated and are in constant search of new ways to seamlessly trick their victims. Sometimes, even the ...
12th Dec 2021
The Threats of Mobile Malware | Explored
With mobile phones becoming an integral part of our daily life and with many shifting from desktops to mobile devices as their main way of computing, cybercriminals are following along. Unfortunately, the threats posed by mobile malware are evolving and becoming more sophisticated than ever, making them one of the rising cyber threats at this time. Cybercriminals are in constant search of sensitive data, and when such data is detected on a device, they will try their best to gain access through the device’s security flaws. Unfortunately, many do not educate themselves about the risks of having unsecure mobile devices ...
2nd Nov 2021
What are the 4 Major Cyber-Threats Smart Cities face?
With the increasing number of people moving from rural to urban areas, Smart cities have become the main attraction for many. The concept of Smart cities began between 1960 and 1970, but countries started prioritizing this idea in 2010. Yokohama, Japan, was the first city to be designated as a smart city demonstrator in 2010, two years later, Barcelona introduced data-driven urban services, such as public transportation, waste management, and street lighting, Cities are becoming more technologically empowered, and in order to capture opportunities and generate long-term success, they must become smarter. Unfortunately, cities that take this step neglect an ...
3rd Oct 2021
Enterprise Messaging Gateway: What is it? And What are its Types?
With technology evolving day by day, new developments are being made to align with today’s fast-paced society and especially with remote work culture where we don’t meet people as often as we used to. Any business or organization must take this into consideration to keep up with the current trends. One of the notable evolvements that occurred is the means of communication. The way we communicate with one another changes as technology evolves. Calls, formerly, were the most common way for businesses to communicate with their customers, however, it has been revealed that 87% of the 97% of customers who reject calls from businesses, ...
1st Sep 2021
The 5 Major Cybersecurity Threats Against the Healthcare Industry in 2021
The healthcare industry is known for being one of the primary targets for cybercriminals, and by 2020 it was ranked as the seventh most attacked sector. Unfortunately, hospitals, clinics, and medical laboratories have experienced a rise in these attacks in the last two years. And with the recent pandemic, cybercriminals took advantage of this event and launched many of their destructive plans. These attacks are mainly motivated by financial gain. They either sell the stolen data or request ransom money from their victims to enable them back access to their data. For instance, at the end of 2020, a major ...
1st Aug 2021
Bio-metric Authentication: Is it reliable?
The history of bio-metrics used as an authentication tool dates to the 1800s. It was first used by the French to identify criminals through their fingerprints, which later the English police commissioner, Edward Henry, developed HCS “Henry Classification System”. It was a system that relied on fingerprints to identify people who have been prosecuted, it was a prime way of classification used by the police during the 20th century. As the years continued, new biological traits started being used in bio-metric authentication which in result are replacing traditional methods of authentication. Any invention introduced in the cyber world has ...
30th Jun 2021