--- title: "You’re Not as Good at Spotting Phishing Emails as You Think You Are | DuoCircle" description: "Could you spot a phishing email if one made it into your inbox? I’ll bet you think you could. Most people do, but they’re wrong." image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/phishing-protection/youre-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are/" --- Quick Answer Most users overestimate their phishing detection ability. A Webroot survey found 79% of people believe they can spot phishing, yet 49% admit clicking a link from an unknown sender at work, 48% have had personal or financial data compromised by phishing, and 81% do not realize phishing happens through SMS, social media, calls, and video chat too, not just email. Awareness training is worth doing, but it tops out around 98% effectiveness, and at 50 phishing emails an organization gets phished anyway. When budget is limited and the choice comes down to training or technology, cloud-based email security with real-time link click protection is the better spend: it blocks most phishing mail before delivery, and on the few that get through, it re-checks the link at click time so a momentary lapse does not become a compromise. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=You%E2%80%99re%20Not%20as%20Good%20at%20Spotting%20Phishing%20Emails%20as%20You%20Think%20You%20Are&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%2F&title=You%E2%80%99re%20Not%20as%20Good%20at%20Spotting%20Phishing%20Emails%20as%20You%20Think%20You%20Are "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=You%E2%80%99re%20Not%20as%20Good%20at%20Spotting%20Phishing%20Emails%20as%20You%20Think%20You%20Are&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%2F "Share via Email") ![Phishing Emails](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/spf-record-generator-9932.jpg) _Could you spot a phishing email if one made it into your inbox? I’ll bet you think you could. Most people do, but they’re wrong._ According to a [Webroot survey](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2019/09/26/spot-phishing-emails/), “While a majority (79%) of people say they are able to distinguish a **phishing message** from a genuine one, nearly half (49%) also admit to having clicked on a link from an unknown sender while at work. Further, nearly half (48%) of respondents said their personal or financial data had been compromised by a phishing message.” [![attack](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/sender-policy-framework-8843.jpg)](/phishing-protection/youre-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are/attachment/sender-policy-framework-8843) Other findings from the survey include the fact that _**81% of participants** are unaware that they can get phished by something other than email_. Other attack vectors include social media, text messaging, phone calls and even video chat. So, there you have. _A false sense of security when it comes to getting phished_. But what to do about it? The common response to revelations like these is to dive head first into **employee awareness training**. And generally speaking, that’s a good idea. Afterall, there’s no downside to having prepared and alert employees which it comes to phishing attacks. There’s only one time when awareness training is a bad idea. That’s when the company is on a limited budget and must choose between awareness training and [email security software](/). When that choice has to be made, software is the better one. Why is that? It’s because even at it’s very best, [employee awareness training](/phishing-protection/the-misguided-solution-to-the-phishing-problem/) is only **98% effective**. And while that may sound good, _if you’re employees receive only 50 phishing emails, you’re company is going to get phished_. That’s not very good. [![email security](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/spf-record-check-8843.jpg)](/phishing-protection/youre-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are/attachment/spf-record-check-8843-2) **Cloud-based email security** with real-time link click protection like that available from [DuoCircle](/email/phishing-protection) can not only keep most phishing emails out of inboxes where employees can’t click on anything, but they can also protect you when one gets through and employees do click on a malicious link. _That’s the beauty of real-time link click protection_. No matter when an employee clicks on a malicious link, **email security software** checks the link and the linked-to website and if it’s malicious, it prevents it from going through. _Training employees to be aware of phishing emails is a smart move_. But, if you only have a limited security budget, which most small businesses do, the better investment is cloud-based email security software with **real-time link click protection**. ![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%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%2F) [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=You%E2%80%99re%20Not%20as%20Good%20at%20Spotting%20Phishing%20Emails%20as%20You%20Think%20You%20Are&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%2F) [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fyoure-not-as-good-at-spotting-phishing-emails-as-you-think-you-are%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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