Identify and Prevent Phishing Attacks: Before They Harm You

Identify and prevent deceptive phishing, the most common and dangerous form, that impersonates legitimate companies like Microsoft 365 or Gmail to pressure you to click links.

Identify spearfishing by recognizing how attackers use personal details to craft convincing emails, texts, or calls, and apply practical tips to prevent these targeted attacks.

Identify and prevent whaling phishing by analyzing targeted, high-level emails that use urgency and personalized corporate details to trigger large payments or data disclosures, and learn practical detection tips.

Identify and prevent clone phishing by recognizing convincing copies of legitimate emails or websites that impersonate senders to steal login credentials, payments, or data through malicious links or attachments.

Identify and prevent pop-up phishing by recognizing warnings that claim malware or rewards and urge you to scan or install software, then learn tips to block harmful pop-ups.

Learn how pharming phishing tricks users by buying similar domains and redirecting them to fake sites to harvest credentials, including malware farming and DNS poisoning.

Identify phishing cues by inspecting generic greetings and salutations, compare with previous messages, and flag emails that lack a personal address or show suspicious mail IDs.

Crosscheck the legitimacy of emails or messages by verifying the sender, using alternate contact methods, and avoiding sharing sensitive information or making payments until you confirm with the sender.

Learn to recognize and avoid phishing pop-ups by not interacting with suspicious windows, using the close button, enabling pop-up blockers, and never disabling them, while reporting malware or security concerns.

Identify phishing by analyzing email tone and urgency, noting phrases like act now or urgent action required. Take time to verify legitimacy before clicking links or sharing personal information.

Learn how multi-factor authentication strengthens your accounts against phishing by requiring extra information beyond a password, such as a code or a fingerprint.

Keep your software up to date to close security gaps and defend against phishing attacks on your browser, email client, antivirus, and operating system patches.

Hover over links to reveal the actual URL, verify the domain and https, and watch for misspellings or shortened URLs to prevent phishing.

Identify whether a link is secure by checking https and the domain, using hover to reveal the actual URL, and assess email legitimacy to prevent phishing.

Identify phishing by checking the sender's email address, hovering to reveal the full address, and verifying the domain against the expected source; watch for misspellings and free email services.

Learn how password rotation reduces the window of opportunity for attackers by changing passwords regularly, protecting against phishing, stale credentials, and other threats, and supporting overall account security.

Identify phishing by examining spelling and grammar in emails. Read carefully and note misspellings, faulty punctuation, and awkward phrasing to distinguish genuine messages from scams.

Learn to scan suspicious URLs and files for phishing risk using virustotal.com, verifying safety with multiple engines and safely deleting unsafe files.

Learn how to verify shortened URLs by expanding them with free online tools, revealing the actual site behind a link to prevent phishing scams.

Learn to identify malicious URLs by checking browser safety indicators and red warning screens, and keep your browser up to date with trusted browsers to prevent phishing.