Roughly nine out of ten cyberattacks begin with a phishing email, a message designed to trick someone into clicking a bad link, opening a malicious file, or handing over a password. The good news? Almost all of them share the same tells. Train your team to recognize these five, and you'll block the overwhelming majority of attacks before they ever reach your systems.
1. A sense of urgency or fear
"Your account will be suspended in 24 hours." "Unusual login detected, act now." Attackers want you to react before you think. Any message that pressures you to move fast, especially about money, passwords, or access, deserves a second, skeptical look.
2. A mismatched or look-alike sender address
The display name might say "Microsoft," but the actual address is support@micros0ft-secure.co. Always check the real email address, not just the name, and watch for subtle misspellings and unusual domains.
3. Links that don't go where they claim
Hover over any link (without clicking) to see the true destination. If the text says one thing and the URL says another, or the address is a jumble of random characters, don't click. When in doubt, navigate to the site directly in your browser instead.
If an email asks you to log in, pay an invoice, or change banking details, verify it through a second channel, a phone call to a known number, before you act.
4. Unexpected attachments
Invoices, shipping notices, and resumes are favorite disguises for malware. If you weren't expecting a file, or the sender rarely emails you, confirm before you open it. Be especially wary of files that ask you to "enable macros" or "enable content."
5. Requests that break normal process
The classic scam: an email that appears to be from your CEO asking for gift cards or an urgent wire transfer. Legitimate leaders don't bypass your normal approval steps. If a request feels off, it probably is, so slow down and verify.
Turn your team into a firewall
Technology stops a lot, but people are your last and best line of defense. At Tech Parachute, our cybersecurity plans include ongoing security awareness training tailored to your industry, plus email filtering and monitoring that catch what slips through. The result: fewer clicks, fewer incidents, and a team that feels confident instead of anxious.