What's phishing? 🎣 – Azurite Professional Community

Phishing is a type of cyberattack where scammers send fake emails or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal or financial information. Phishing emails can look very convincing, but there are some ways to spot them and protect yourself. Here are some tips on how to tell if an email might be phishing:

Check the sender’s email address. Phishing emails often use public domains like gmail.com, outlook.com, or yahoo.com, instead of the official email domain of the company or organization they are pretending to be. For example, if you receive an email from bankofamerica@gmail.com, it is most likely a phishing email.
Check the greeting and the signature. Phishing emails often use generic or impersonal greetings like “Dear Customer” or “Dear Sir/Madam”, instead of addressing you by your name. They may also lack a signature or use a vague one like “Customer Service” or “Support Team”. Legitimate emails usually have a personalized greeting and a clear signature with the sender’s name and contact information.
Check the spelling and grammar. Phishing emails often have poor spelling and grammar, or use words that are not common in your language. They may also use different fonts, colors, or sizes to make the email look more authentic. Legitimate emails are usually well-written and consistent in their formatting.
Check the links and attachments. Phishing emails often contain links or attachments that lead to malicious websites or files. They may use misleading text or images to make you click on them. For example, they may say “Click here to verify your account” or “Open this invoice to see your payment details”. Do not click on any links or open any attachments unless you are sure they are safe. You can hover your mouse over a link to see the actual URL, and look for signs of tampering like misspellings, extra characters, or different domains.
Check the urgency and tone. Phishing emails often try to create a sense of urgency or panic to make you act quickly without thinking. They may use words like “urgent”, “immediate”, “final”, or “last chance”. They may also threaten you with negative consequences like account suspension, legal action, or fines if you do not comply. Legitimate emails usually do not pressure you to do something in a hurry, and they respect your privacy and security.

If you suspect that an email is phishing, do not reply, click on any links, or open any attachments. Delete the email from your inbox and report it as spam. If you think you have fallen victim to a phishing attack, run a virus scan on your device, backup your files, and change your passwords. You can also contact the company or organization that the email claimed to be from and verify if they sent it.

For more information on how to recognize and avoid phishing scams, you can visit these websites: