Staying Safe Online · Email & Message Tricks · Lesson 1 of 5

Spotting a Phishing Email

Learn the five clues that give away a fake email.

What phishing is

Phishing is when someone sends a fake message to trick you. The message pretends to come from a company or person you trust. The name sounds like fishing, because they throw out bait and hope you bite.

The goal is usually one of these:

• Get your password or bank details.
• Get you to send money or gift cards.
• Get you to open a file or link that harms your computer.

Phishing is very common. Scammers send millions of these messages a day. Smart, careful people get fooled sometimes. If it happens to you, it is not a reason to feel ashamed. There is almost always something you can do.

Here are the five clues to look for:

1. The sender address. The name may say Amazon, but the address after it may be something odd, like amaz0n-orders@mailbox.example.
2. Hurry. Words like 'Act now' or 'Your account will be closed today'.
3. Asking for money, passwords or gift cards. Real companies don't ask for these by email.
4. A plain greeting. 'Dear Customer' instead of your name.
5. Links that go somewhere else. Rest your mouse on a link without clicking. The real address shows up in a corner of the screen.

One clue alone doesn't prove a scam. Two or more is a strong sign.

On the practice computer, look at each of the six emails and mark it Looks real or Scam. Rest your mouse on the links to see where they really go.

Reading the sender address

The sender address is the email address the message came from. It is the most useful clue, so let's look closer.

Most email apps show a name first, like Amazon. Anyone can type any name there. It proves nothing. The real address is next to it or under it. In Outlook and Gmail, you may need to click the name to see it.

An email address has two parts. Everything after the @ sign is the company's web name. That is the part to check.

• orders@amazon.com ends with amazon.com. That fits.
• orders@amazon-support-team.example does not end with amazon.com. That is a warning.
• service@paypa1.com uses the number 1 instead of the letter l. Scammers love small swaps like this.

Free email addresses are another clue. A bank won't write to you from an @gmail.com or @outlook.com address.

Sender addresses can be faked in clever ways. So a normal address doesn't prove an email is safe. Check the other clues too.

When you are unsure, don't use anything in the email. Open the company's app, or type its web address yourself, and sign in there. If there is a real problem, you will see it.