STAY SAFE FROM PHISHING. 5 Ways to Stay Safe

Phishing attacks are getting more sophisticated.  Use this post to arm yourself with 5 tips to spot a fake email.

1. Check the Sender

• Make sure the organization name in the “From” field matches the address between the brackets. Watch out for addresses that contain typos in the organization name (think amaz0n.com).

2. Check the salutation

• If you do business with an organization, the first line of the email should always contain your name. Don’t trust impersonal introductions like “Dear Customer.”

3. Use your mouse to hover over links

• Hover over an email link to see the full URL it will direct you to. Do NOT click the link—just hover. If the address isn’t where you’d expect to go, don’t click it. Check all the links—if the URLs are all the same, it’s likely a phishing email.

4. Examine the footer

• The footer of any legitimate email should contain, at minimum:
  • A physical address for the brand or institution
  • An unsubscribe button
• If either of these items are missing, it’s probably fake.

5. If it’s doubtful don’t click on it.  Delete it.

• If you don’t know the sender, or even if something seems off, delete the email. If it’s not fake, the sender will contact you another way or send the message again.