--- title: "How to Identify Phishing | DuoCircle" description: "Social engineering serves as an open back door for cybercriminals. Attackers don’t bother to create an elaborate plan of how to get into a company’s system." image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/phishing-protection/how-to-identify-phishing/" --- Quick Answer Phishing emails impersonate well-known brands to steal credentials or financial data. Verizon's 2021 DBIR found phishing in 36% of breaches, and email is the delivery channel for 96% of phishing. Identify phishing by checking: the sender domain (legitimate companies use their own domain, not @gmail.com or lookalike domains), spelling and grammar errors, generic greetings instead of your name, urgent or threatening language demanding immediate action, mismatched or shortened links (hover to inspect the actual URL), unsolicited attachments, and requests for passwords, payment details, or other sensitive data. The most-impersonated brands are Microsoft, Office 365, Adobe, Amazon, Netflix, and Zoom. When in doubt, navigate to the company directly through a known URL rather than clicking the email link. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=How%20to%20Identify%20Phishing&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F&title=How%20to%20Identify%20Phishing "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=How%20to%20Identify%20Phishing&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F "Share via Email") ![identify phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/08/smtp-4237.jpg) Social engineering serves as an open back door for cybercriminals. Attackers don’t bother to create an elaborate plan of how to get into a company’s system. Phishing can guarantee their goal will be achieved. According to [Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report](https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/), this attack is leading the top of breaches in 2020 with 38%. That explains the serious financial company losses due to phishing. _Let’s find out what it is and how to identify it._ ## What is Phishing? [Phishing](/resources/how-does-a-phishing-attack-work) is a type of cyber attack when criminals use social engineering techniques to steal user credentials. For example, **fake emails** from famous companies and services. The phishing outcome is devastating. Huge financial and data losses. Serious damage to the reputation and a chance to lose customer trust. According to [UK research](https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/rethink/business-issues/strategy-operations/has-covid-19-made-your-business-more-vulnerable-to-corporate-fraud), 60% of companies suffered from fraud in 2020, with an average loss of £245,000. Phishers prefer to **expose data from companies** connected with technology, shipping, and retail. However, other sectors are also at risk. And attackers are quite unpredictable, organizations of all sizes can become their victims. ## How Does Phishing Spread? Verizon’s report also investigated that the most common way to deliver phishing is email, 96%. Criminals do their best to trick users and lure them to give up their personal data. _Attackers impersonate well-known companies_. Every single detail comes in handy: logos, domains, URLs, pictures, websites, text, forms. And users fall into their trickery. According to [Check Point](https://www.checkpoint.com/press/2021/microsoft-continues-to-be-most-imitated-brand-for-phishing-attempts-in-q4-2020/), **Microsoft** (43%) is the most mimicked brand around the world. Sign-in forms, references in emails, links to sites. In the picture below, you can see a malicious example of this company’s usage. In 2019, phishers created even Netflix sign-in form. Here users were offered to input their login and password, which were stolen later. This scenario is quite successful. Office 365, Adobe, Twitter, Amazon, Zoom, usual services that crooks make use of. These decoys look legit, and only attentive users who suspect fraud can be safe. [![identify email fraud](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/08/dmarc-report-7693.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/08/dmarc-report-7693.jpg) ## How to Identify Phishing Scams? There are several ways to [identify that an email is a fraud](/content/email-phishing-protection) and is a part of a phishing attack: ### Public Domain Email Address Legitimate companies usually send emails from their own domains. If you got an email from “@gmail.com”, try to hold on, it’s likely **phishing**. ### Mistakes Trustworthy organizations have well-written emails and good grammar. Spelling and grammar mistakes are **red flags** that you shouldn’t ignore. ### Attachments It’s a usual practice when a company directs you to the website for additional information and doesn’t send random files. But if there is an unexpected attachment in your inbox, you should be on the lookout. ### Greetings If you work with a company, the email would call you by your name. Attackers typically prefer no greetings at all or some generic salutations like “Dear valued customer”, “Dear account holder.” ### Links Authentic institutions will provide legit URLs. But when a link says it’s going to send you to the exact site, doesn’t mean it’s going to. If a hyperlink has some mistakes or doesn’t correspond to the message’s topic, you shouldn’t click on it. [![protection from phishing attacks](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/08/dmarc-report-service-8682.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2021/08/dmarc-report-service-8682.jpg) ## How to Prevent Phishing? [Staff education](/content/spear-phishing-prevention/phishing-education) is an essential part of the [protection from phishing attacks](/). If employees follow simple cybersecurity rules and try to be suspicious of the content they receive, phishing won’t achieve its goal. _Here are some tips we would like to offer to avoid scams:_ 1. 1. **Two-factor authentication** and **constantly changed passwords** should be a part of the security policy. 2. Updated software, including antivirus, relevant programs have advanced protection. 3. Check suspicious links and attachments. Don’t open anything until you are certain what is exactly in front of you. Try to **review the content** of a file with no harm to your computer: use sandboxes like [ANY.RUN](https://any.run/). A couple of minutes and the verdict will tell you whether you can trust this resource or not. Cybercriminals use [different techniques](/content/email-security-services/types-of-email-security) and brand names to organize phishing attacks. To identify the fraud, you need to be aware of where to find its signs. Be attentive enough, use modern tools and stay safe! ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) Brad Slavin General Manager General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio. ## Secure your email infrastructure Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution. [Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) Share this article [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F) [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=How%20to%20Identify%20Phishing&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F) [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fhow-to-identify-phishing%2F) Copy Related Articles - [ ![AI-Generated Phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2026/04/spf-record-4522.jpg) AI-Generated Phishing Has Eliminated the Typo: Why Traditional Email Filters Are No Longer Enough Phishing ](/blog/ai-generated-phishing-eliminates-typos-making-traditional-email-filters-ineffective/) - [ ![spf-permerror-4555](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2023/05/spf-permerror-4555.jpg) 10 Applications of ChatGPT that Hackers Are Already Exploiting Phishing ](/blog/phishing-protection/10-applications-of-chatgpt-that-hackers-are-already-exploiting/) - [ ![Email-Based Cyber-Attacks](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2016/03/spf-record-tester-4455.jpg) 65% of Global Businesses Ill-Equipped to Defend Against Email-Based Cyber-Attacks Phishing ](/blog/phishing-protection/65-global-businesses-ill-equipped-defend-email-based-cyber-attacks/) - [ ![Email-based Ransomware Attacks](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2018/02/email-smtp-service-7834.jpg) 7 Ways to Protect Your Organization from Email-based Ransomware Attacks Phishing ](/blog/phishing-protection/7-ways-protect-organization-email-based-ransomware-attacks/) ## Related Articles [ Phishing 11m AI-Generated Phishing Has Eliminated the Typo: Why Traditional Email Filters Are No Longer Enough Apr 28, 2026 ](/blog/ai-generated-phishing-eliminates-typos-making-traditional-email-filters-ineffective/)[ Phishing 5m 10 Applications of ChatGPT that Hackers Are Already Exploiting May 3, 2023 ](/blog/phishing-protection/10-applications-of-chatgpt-that-hackers-are-already-exploiting/)[ Phishing 4m 65% of Global Businesses Ill-Equipped to Defend Against Email-Based Cyber-Attacks Mar 29, 2016 ](/blog/phishing-protection/65-global-businesses-ill-equipped-defend-email-based-cyber-attacks/)[ Phishing 9m 7 Ways to Protect Your Organization from Email-based Ransomware Attacks Feb 11, 2018 ](/blog/phishing-protection/7-ways-protect-organization-email-based-ransomware-attacks/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. 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