Getting infected through email, particularly through phishing emails, is an easy way for attackers to gain access to your personal information. While corporations and big companies are usually the targets, individuals are now also being targeted because they pose little threat. Attackers can use personal emails on office computers or similar combinations to bypass a company’s million-dollar cybersecurity infrastructure. That’s why you’re a prime target, and it’s on you to protect yourself.
Phishing emails often appear legitimate, but they can contain embedded links or promotions that are dangerous. While many of these emails are deleted, people can still make the mistake of clicking on a wrong link, resulting in the loss of personal data and time. Just ask yourself, how many people you know got phished or brought malware on their device? How much time and personal data did they lose.
Try to Avoid Clicking on Links
Emails should be for communication and notification purposes only. Even if they give you the link, don’t use it unless you expect the email with the link. I highly urge you to go to a legitimate source, like the webpage of that company, bank, etc. Check if what they say in the email is true or not. Or better yet, use an app. Someone hacking an app is much less likely than creating a phishing email that looks like it comes from that company.
Many times, phishing emails tend to come with some urgency or a way to stress you out, like your bill is due, or “click here while you can.” When an email from a supposedly legitimate company/person (your work, bank, friend) asks you to verify some information or tells you your password is expiring, don’t click on the link that’s in the email.
By checking the app or website from where you think that email is coming from, you can check if the email is legitimate or not. No company will say the only way to check is by clicking on this link. If you’re unsure, consult with family or a friend that is more experienced with this.
It can be easier just clicking on the link, but it’s much more work undoing the mistake if the email was fake. Just because it says it came from Chase Bank doesn’t mean it’s from them. Also, having an app on the phone is much easier and faster, as you can open it with a click of a button.
Check the Sender
Phishing and spam emails often contain mistakes in grammar and spelling, have strange subject lines, or come from an unexpected sender. They may also arrive at odd times. If you weren’t expecting a notification or bill payment request, it’s likely that the email is not legitimate.
To check the email’s authenticity, take a look at the sender’s address.
- Open the email in question
- Double click on the Sender Name Tag
- Check what is the email address.
- Is everything that comes after the “@” symbol a legitimate address? For example, an address like “amazons.com” may look legitimate, but it’s not. This tactic is known as “typo squatting” or “URL hijacking.”
- If you’re unsure about an email’s legitimacy, check other emails from same sender or copy and paste the address that comes after “@” into a Google search. If it’s a legitimate business or email account, the search should bring up a reputable website page.
Separate Email Addresses
The chances are high that you have a Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or similar email account, right? Although they’re simple, these accounts tend to raise concerns about privacy and lack professionalism. Additionally, if you have a free account, chances are it’s not completely secure.
While many people today won’t respond to emails from Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and the like, you should still use Gmail for non-important accounts, such as Amazon, gym memberships, or mechanics. To keep your essential items in one place and avoid searching through tons of junk mail, create a separate email account, like Outlook, ProtonMail, or another secure email service, for important accounts such as bank accounts, utilities, or the like. This way, your email will have little exposure to the public and receive much less junk mail.
I personally have three accounts: one for personal communication that I share with friends and family, one for financial and other important accounts, and one for junk. The junk email was the first one I owned, and after I realized I couldn’t clean it up, I switched the important stuff to the other two. This might be too much to manage, but I will tell you it’s not hard at all. Mostly because all those 50+ junk emails don’t come to my important email addresses. Sure, there are a few marketing emails from the bank, but I can easily delete them. If you follow my guide on how to manage your emails, it can be even easier.
Lastly, keep your work separate from your personal email. Don’t keep them together. First, it’s unprofessional, and the company has full rights to review your emails if necessary. Second, no matter what job title you hold, unless you own the company, you could be laid off tomorrow and not have time to switch emails, so you could lose access to some accounts.