How I Spot Phishing Emails in Seconds
Phishing emails are getting scary good.
Gone are the days of obvious spelling mistakes and sketchy-looking messages. Some now look almost identical to emails from your bank, delivery company, or even Google.
A few things I always check before clicking anything:
• Look at the sender’s actual email address, not just the display name. “PayPal Support” means nothing if the email ends with a random domain.
• Don’t panic just because the email says “Your account will be suspended today.” Creating urgency is one of the oldest tricks in the book.
• Hover over links before clicking. If the destination looks strange or has extra words, numbers, or misspellings, close the email.
• Be careful with attachments you weren’t expecting. Especially ZIP files, Office documents asking you to enable macros, or random PDFs.
• Watch for greetings like “Dear Customer.” Companies you regularly use usually know your name.
• If an email asks you to log in, don’t use the link inside it. Open your browser and visit the website yourself.
• If something feels even slightly off, stop. Taking an extra 30 seconds is a lot easier than trying to recover a hacked account.
Scammers don’t just target people who “aren’t good with tech.”
I’ve seen fake emails pretending to be from banks, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Netflix, courier services, tax departments, and even coworkers.
The best defense isn’t being a computer expert.
It’s slowing down before you click.
That one habit can save you a lot of trouble.
