How To Investigate Phishing Emails Must Be In Every Employee-Training Module To Prevent Phishing Attack

Phishing is the malpractice of sending emails purported to be from reputable organizations. It induces an individual or an organization to reveal personal or confidential information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, etc. Malicious actors can use this information to steal money or launch other attacks. Basic knowledge of how to investigate phishing emails can help identify one at the first instance and save undesirable consequences.

email phishing prevention

How To Investigate Phishing Emails?

The process of investigating a phishing email is tedious. Email phishing prevention may seem overwhelming because these attackers dedicate much time and energy to trick their victims, who may have been selected because their potential rewards are relatively high. However, looking at the rate at which the phishing attacks grow day by day, it is significant to know how to detect phishing attacks at the first instance.

The following are the factors to look out for when one is involved in the email investigation process:

Fake Domain Name

As long as the organization is ignorant of how to prevent phishing and spoofing, malicious actors will always be a step ahead. It is advisable to carefully examine the ‘reputable’ sender’s domain name and look for any misspelling in the email. For example, a domain name ‘abcdee.com’ can be used to spoof ‘abcde.com’

Spoof Email Address

Apart from the domain name misspelling, the attackers will mostly use a public email domain. Except for independent workers, every organization will have their email domain and organization accounts. The best phishing protection step to take in such situations is performing a search operation using the browser regarding the organization name.

Hyperlinked Content

Sometimes, entire emails are coded in the form of hyperlinks. Therefore, clicking accidentally or deliberately anywhere in the email will open a fake page or download spam into the target’s computer. When a redirection to another website occurs, it’s advisable to cancel the operation as soon as possible.

Composition Errors

Always lookout for any poor spelling and grammar. Legitimate organizations know how to spell well, whereas phishing emails can contain a lot of composition errors. The objective is that if someone ignores clues about how the message is written, they’re less likely to pick up clues during the scammer’s end-game. Thus, the malicious actors prey on the uneducated, believing them to be less observant, making them easy targets.

Malicious Attachments And Links

The one thing phishing emails have in common is a payload. It may mostly be an infectious attachment or a link to a bogus website that requests login details and other sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers. Legitimate organizations will never request confidential information via emails or login links. Never open any attachments unless you are fully confident that the message is from an authorized party. To be sure, contact the sender and ask them to verify its legitimacy.

Educating the employees on how to investigate phishing emails is crucial since they possess credentials and critical information. Malicious actors can steal it to breach the organization’s security. Individuals or employees in an organization should be imparted awareness of phishing tactics and how to mitigate phishing attacks as part of phishing prevention best practices. Phishing prevention software can also be used for automatic phishing detection. An organization that knows how to stop phishing emails have fewer reasons to worry.

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