10 Ways to Spot a Phishing Email

Phishing is a way of targeting your personal data or your finances, most often through emails, SMS messages, or phone calls. In this article, we'll focus on email phishing.

Phishing scams are becoming more common, with new phishing strategies and emails being developed all the time. That's why it's important to stay alert and always review your emails carefully. If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of an email, it's best not to reply, and never provide personal information.

Here are 10 ways to spot a phishing scam

1. Who's sending the email?

Check the sender's address carefully. Fake addresses that look genuine but contain small differences are extremely common — extra characters, letters, or numbers (@g00gle.com instead of @google.com, @bank1.bg instead of @bank.bg).

2. Spelling and grammar mistakes

If you notice oddly worded sentences or spelling mistakes, that should be a strong signal that you're looking at a phishing email.

3. Generic greetings

If the email addresses you with "Dear Customer" or "Hello User" instead of your name, that can be a red flag.

4. Urgency and threats

Phrases like "Your account will be closed within 24 hours" or "You must confirm your details immediately" are highly suspicious. Phishing emails often try to create a sense of urgency so you act quickly without stopping to think.

5. Suspicious links

Never click directly on links. To see the actual URL, hover your mouse over the link without clicking — the address will appear in the bottom-left corner of your screen. If the URL looks suspicious, don't click it.

6. Illogical requests for personal information

A legitimate organization would never ask for passwords, PIN codes, or banking details by email. Be skeptical if anyone requests that kind of information over email.

7. Attachments

Be careful with attachments. Don't open an attachment without checking its file format first. Files with .exe or .zip extensions in particular can often carry malware.

8. Suspicious logos and design

Most organizations use a consistent structure, font, and design in their emails. If an email you received looks unusually structured, that should raise your suspicion. The logo might also look blurry or use different colors than usual. Check the fonts and colors on the organization's official website, or even contact the organization directly to verify whether the email is legitimate.

9. Unrealistic offers

If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Emails insisting that you've won a prize are almost certainly phishing.

10. Donation campaigns

Emails urging you to send money to unfamiliar accounts are often scams. Emotional manipulation is a common phishing tactic. Don't rush to send money without verifying the donation campaign through an official source.

Now that we know how to spot phishing emails, here's how to react if you happen to receive one.

• If you're not expecting an email from a particular place, organization, or person, always proceed with caution.
• Don't click on suspicious links, and don't open or download attachments with suspicious names or file extensions.
• If you have doubts about an email's legitimacy, contact the supposed sender or organization directly through their official website.
• If you received such an email at your work address, contact your company's IT department.
• Don't do anything the email is telling you to do.
• Mark the email as phishing — doing so helps similar emails get flagged as fraudulent in the future.
• Delete the email.