John Hill, CEO for TechSage Solutions here again on the Strategic Deck.
A phishing email is a bogus email that's carefully designed to look exactly like a legitimate request. How can I spot a phishing email since they all look real? Often these emails look 100% legitimate and show up in the form of a PDF, like a scanned document or a UPS or FedEx tracking number. Bank letter. Facebook alert, bank notification, etc.
First, double check the email. You might discover that the email that seems to be from the boss is actually from a Gmail account and not a company email address at all.
Second, hover over the URL in the email, but don't click it. To see the actual website you'll be directed to. If there's a mismatch or a suspicious URL, delete that email immediately. If you're unsure, simply go directly to the site by typing it into your browser rather than clicking on the link. Another telltale sign is poor grammar and spelling errors.
The main message I'm trying to get across to you today is that you should always be just a bit suspicious of any email you receive and take at least a couple of basic precautions to try to ensure that you don't fall prey to ransomware or some other type of malicious attack that can come through the email.
If you have questions about cybersecurity, please go to www.techsagesolutions.com.
Cheers!