{"id":92,"date":"2016-12-05T20:41:38","date_gmt":"2016-12-05T20:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/?p=92"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T10:53:10","slug":"how-to-spot-a-phishing-email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-spot-a-phishing-email\/","title":{"rendered":"How to spot a phishing email"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phishing scams are more common than you think.<\/strong> Some of these email scams are easily identifiable, while others hide behind an array of claimed legitimacies that are easily accepted by the unaware eye.<\/p>\n

Whether you manage your own emails, or rely on someone else to do it for you, you could be vulnerable to human hacking.<\/p>\n

Social engineering, sometimes referred to as \u201cthe art of human hacking\u201d, involves the exploitation of weaknesses found in human psychology. In very basic terms, social engineers trick people into divulging information they would normally keep private, and is something that an awareness of cybersecurity principles<\/a> can help to protect you against.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at a popular example of social engineering in action:<\/p>\n

\n
phishing
\n\u02c8f\u026a\u0283\u026a\u014b\/
\n<\/strong>noun<\/em><\/h5>\n

the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers, online.<\/p>\n

\n

So, now that you can answer the question \u201cWhat is phishing?\u201d, here are 5 ways to recognise a phishing scam, followed by a dissection of a real-life scenario: a PayPal phishing email.<\/p>\n

1. Request for personal information<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Hear that? It\u2019s the sound of alarm bells.<\/p>\n

While a phishing email may attempt to gather other personal information, the common aim is banking details – for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s highly unlikely that any bank, or other company, will ask for your personal information via email, so keep it to yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And tell your secretary to do the same.<\/p>\n

\"cybersecurity-how-to-spot-phishing-email-1\"<\/p>\n

2. Spelling and grammar<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Ever heard the saying \u201cIt takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute.\u201d?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a truth that every brand<\/a> is, or should be, painfully aware of.<\/p>\n

Brands are especially careful of avoiding simple mistakes – they look unprofessional and that\u2019s mostly because if they happen, they are.<\/p>\n

\"cybersecurity-how-to-spot-phishing-email-2\"<\/p>\n

3. Suspicious links<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Hyperlinked text can act as a false link. Instead of immediately clicking on a link in the body of your email, hover over it to see the actual address.<\/p>\n

Is it what you expected? Or does it look something like this:<\/p>\n

\"industry-advice-cybersecurity-phishing-email-link-address\"<\/p>\n

The main web address, or \u201cdomain\u201d, consists of two parts separated by one dot (i.e. name(dot)com = paypal.com) and appears before the first forward-slash (after \u201chttp:\/\/\u201d). If the domain doesn\u2019t appear there, it\u2019s likely a phish.<\/p>\n

Work backwards from the forward-slash and stop at the second dot to determine the link\u2019s legitimacy – what comes before that is irrelevant.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\"cybersecurity-how-to-spot-phishing-email-3\"<\/p>\n

4. Urgency tactics<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Let\u2019s imagine your banking details really have fallen into the wrong hands. What\u2019s a more likely course of action for your bank to take?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Send you an urgent email or text message<\/li>\n
  2. Call you immediately<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It\u2019s obvious, right?<\/p>\n

    However, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t they call me?\u201d might not be the first question that pops into your head when you\u2019re reading an email telling you that someone has stolen your credit card details . You\u2019re more likely to think, \u201cShitfuckballsohGod, how do I fix this?\u201d<\/p>\n

    And that\u2019s exactly what Phishermen take advantage of.<\/p>\n

    Watch out for:<\/h5>\n

    Timing<\/strong>
    \n\u201cTake immediate action\u201d
    \n\u201cYou don\u2019t have much time\u201d<\/p>\n

    Punctuation<\/strong>
    \n\u2026
    \n!!!
    \n??<\/p>\n

    Scare tactics<\/strong>
    \n\u201c(Do this) to prevent the loss of all your savings.\u201d
    \n\u201cCriminals could be spending your money right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Full disclosure<\/strong>
    \nPhishing scams usually go for an all-or-nothing approach, asking for everything from contact info and home address, to credit card details and names of family members.<\/p>\n

    5. The return addresses<\/strong><\/h5>\n

    Most return addresses are represented by a name rather than a full address – in the same way that a full link can be represented by a hyperlinked word or phrase.<\/p>\n

    Always check the full address. Here\u2019s what it should<\/strong> look like:<\/p>\n

    \"industry-advice-cybersecurity-Dropbox-not-a-phishing-email\"<\/p>\n

    And here\u2019s an example of what it might look like if it was a phish:<\/p>\n

    \"industry-advice-cybersecurity-Dropbox-phishing-email\"<\/p>\n

    Just because it has the company name in the \u201cfrom:\u201d field doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s legitimate.<\/p>\n

    \n
    TIP:\u00a0<\/strong>The Greeting<\/strong><\/h5>\n

    Does the \u201cDear\u2026\u201d line greet you by name?<\/em><\/p>\n

    Most companies, especially your bank, have your personal information available and will address you by name in all communication.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
    Dissecting a real phishing email<\/strong><\/h5>\n

    How many warning signs can you see (from the surface), and what would you double-check that you can\u2019t see in this mail? Once you’ve had a look, check the answers below.<\/p>\n

    \"industry-advice-cybersecurity-PayPal-phishing-email\"<\/p>\n

    On the surface:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The PayPal logo usually has \u201c\u2122\u201d after it<\/li>\n
    2. Not addressed to recipient\u2019s name<\/li>\n
    3. \u201cPayPal\u201d is in bold throughout the mail – why?<\/li>\n
    4. Double spacing issues<\/li>\n
    5. Urgency: \u201c…before 10 Dec 2011\u201d<\/li>\n
    6. P.O. Box address is wrong<\/li>\n
    7. Awkward sentences in some instances : \u201c…take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience\u2026\u201d, \u201c…your PayPal session will not be interrupted\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Below the surface:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Is the \u201cfrom:\u201d address legitimate?<\/li>\n
      2. Is the link in the body of the email real, or a hyperlink to another address?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
        Want to protect your company from cyber fraud?<\/h5>\n

        Fill the gaps in a lucrative industry experiencing a shortage of skilled professionals with UCT Fundamentals of Cyber Security online short course.<\/p>\n

        TELL ME MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Don’t let yourself or your business fall prey to cyber fraud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":17275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[120],"article-format":[],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-advice","tag-systems-technology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Spot a Phishing Email<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Don't fall prey to cyber fraud - identifying a phishing email could help you or your company avoid serious security violations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-spot-a-phishing-email\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to spot a phishing email\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Don't fall prey to cyber fraud - 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