The Ultimate Guide to Avoiding Phishing Attacks: Don't Take the Bait

Phishing is a cybercrime in which a target is contacted by email, telephone, or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.

Types of Phishing

1. Deceptive Phishing

The most common type. Attackers impersonate a legitimate company to steal credentials. Example: "PayPal: Your account has been suspended."

2. Spear Phishing

Targeted attacks against a specific individual or organization. Attackers customize the email with the target's name, position, or company to make it convincing.

3. Whaling

A form of spear phishing that targets high-profile executives ("whales") like a CEO or CFO, usually to steal sensitive company data or initiate unauthorized wire transfers.

How to Spot a Phishing Email

• Check the Sender Address: Legitimate companies don't send emails from public domains like @gmail.com. Watch for subtle typos (e.g., paypa1.com vs paypal.com). You can use our Email Header Analyzer to inspect the true origin of an email.
• Generic Greetings: "Dear Customer" instead of your name is a red flag.
• Urgent or Threatening Language: "Act now or your account will be deleted!" is designed to make you panic and click without thinking.
• Suspicious Links: Hover over the link (don't click!) to see the actual URL. If it looks strange, don't trust it.
• Unexpected Attachments: Never open attachments (especially .zip, .exe, .scr) from unknown senders.

What to Do if You Spot a Phish

1. Do not click any links or open attachments.
2. Report it to your IT department or email provider.
3. Delete the email permanently.

Conclusion

Information is power. By educating yourself on the signs of phishing, you become the strongest firewall against these attacks. Always verify before you trust.