How to Spot Phishing Emails, Texts and Websites
Phishing is when criminals pretend to be a trusted company or person to trick you into sharing passwords, payment details or personal information, or into installing harmful software.
Common warning signs
- Urgency or threats: "Your account will be closed in 24 hours."
- Unexpected requests: asking you to verify an account, confirm a delivery or claim a refund.
- Mismatched links: hover over a link to see the real address. If it does not match the company, do not click it.
- Generic greetings such as "Dear customer".
- Poor spelling or odd formatting, although better-written scams are increasingly common.
- Unexpected attachments, especially zip files and documents asking you to enable macros.
Check the sender
The display name can be faked. Look at the full sender address. Even a real-looking domain can have a small change, such as an extra letter.
What to do instead of clicking
- Open the company's website by typing the address yourself, or use its official app.
- Contact the company using a phone number from its official site.
- If a colleague or family member messages you with an odd request, confirm by calling them.
Text messages and phone calls
Fake delivery texts and calls claiming to be from your bank or tech support are common. Real banks do not ask for your full password or one-time codes. Hang up and call back using the number on your card or official website.
If you clicked
- Disconnect from the internet if you downloaded something.
- Change the password for the affected account, and any other account using the same password.
- Turn on two-factor authentication.
- Scan your computer with your security software.
- Contact your bank if you shared payment details.
- Report the message to the impersonated company and to your email provider.
Stay protected
Keep your browser and operating system updated, use a password manager that warns you about fake sites and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.
This article is for general information only and is not professional advice. Features, prices and menu names may change between software versions. See our disclaimer.