Bus Tek Tip – Avoiding Being a Phishing Victim

An email phishing attack is someone sending you an email, typically as someone else, trying to get money or confidential information from you. It’s sad how many times I’ve seen businesses lose 5, 6, or even 7 figures in a phishing scam.  It’s even sadder that they don’t take the risk seriously until after the loss.  So here are some tips for you to avoid that fate:

• Look at the full From: address.  Most phishing emails will have a from address that is completely different than who it seems to be from.  That is, it might say it’s from Ed Murphy, but the full email address is kj7643@komo.jp.
  • Look at the web links: On a computer, you can hover over the links to see where they actually go.  If it doesn’t seem related to where you think it should go, then it is likely a phishing scam.  For example, if the text of the link is going to a .com link but hovering over it shows it is going to a .ru (Russia) site, then don’t click on it.  If hovering shows a link that is not related to the site, or looks like gibberish, then it is also likely bad.
  Look for misspellings or odd grammatical phrases:  Most phishing comes from other countries, and the writers will misspell words or use language that is not typical for Americans.  If you see that, be cautious.  (Note: AI is being used by cybercriminals to decrease this indicator.)Look for small but important differences in the domain name: Sometimes, cybercriminals will set up a domain that looks almost the same, but with one letter difference.  For example, instead of Microsoft.com, it might be M1crosoft.com.  If you see that in a link or email address, steer clear. When dealing with financial matters in an email, always verify by talking to the other person (and use a well-known phone number, not necessarily what is in the email).
  • Use an email filtering service.  If you have a business Microsoft 365 account, you can add and configure Microsoft Defender for 365 Plan 1.  That will remove many of the phishing attempts.

If you follow the above tips, you’ll be able to avoid the majority of phishing attacks.  But not all.  Some are very sophisticated and hard to spot.  But as you practice, you will become quicker and better at spotting them and avoiding the pain of being a victim.

By Robert Hood, Founder and CEO SpotLink: November 13, 2025 – Great Falls, Mt

Author: Staff

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