Phishing emails are a pain. You’ve probably seen one this week already – maybe from “Royal Mail” about a parcel you never ordered, or a bank you don’t even use. Some are laughably bad, others are sneaky enough to fool almost anyone if they’re in a rush.
The truth is, businesses don’t need to get hit by dozens of these. It only takes one person clicking the wrong link for things to spiral. That’s why it’s worth slowing down and teaching your team what to look for.
What phishing really is
It’s basically trickery. Someone pretends to be a trusted brand, colleague, or service, then nudges you into doing something risky. Maybe it’s typing your password into a fake login page. Maybe it’s downloading a file that installs malware. Either way, the goal is the same: get access, steal data, or grab money.
We’d have a client show us an email that looked exactly like a Microsoft sign-in page. Even the fonts and logo were perfect. The only clue was the web address – it was a jumble of nonsense. Without that double-check, it would’ve been game over.