With Jorge Ruano

Tech Support 32,538
Extortion 39,416
Non-Payment/Non-Delivery 51,679
Personal Data Breach 58,859
Phishing 300,497

 
During my time as a security analyst, most of my responsibilities involved inspecting emails. Approximately 60 percent of the emails I dealt with were unsolicited; of this unsolicited batch, roughly 25 percent were identified as phishing attempts.
 

Here's a quick guide on how to examine emails:

 
Check the email address: Look at the "From" field to check the sender's email address.
Most legitimate emails are usually sent from a corporate email address, be wary if it's a generic email provider like Gmail or Yahoo.
 
Verify the domain: Scammers sometimes use domains that look like the real ones. Triple-check the domain name to ensure it matches the company's actual domain. For example, they sometimes use a 0 instead of an O to throw you off. (GOOGLE/G00GLE)
 
Grammar and spelling can be a clue: Phishing emails often contain errors. An email from a legitimate organization should be well-written.
 
Hover over links: If the email contains links, hover over them without clicking. Doing this will show you the actual URL of where it's going. If it doesn't match the text of the link or the company's website, it's likely a scam.
 
Urgent requests are a significant indicator: Scammers often try to create a sense of urgency to trick you into acting without thinking. Be suspicious of any email stating that urgent action is required.
 
Avoid Attachment: If the email contains an attachment, don't open it immediately. Scammers can disguise their attacks within files such as PDFs, Word documents, Excel sheets, images, and other files. You must examine the email thoroughly before opening the attachment.
 
If you're still unsure, contact the company directly using contact details from their official website, not the details in the suspicious email.
 
Reference: https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3Report.pdf