- Spoofed hyperlinks. Hover your cursor over any links in the body of the email. The links not matching the text that appears when hovering over them should raise a red flag. Additionally, the use of a URL shortening service to hide the true destination of the link should also raise a red flag.
- Spelling and Layout. Poor grammar and sentence structure, misspellings, and inconsistent formatting are other indicators of a possible phishing attempt. Reputable institutions have dedicated personnel that produce, verify, and proofread customer correspondence.
- Suspicious Attachments. An unsolicited email requesting a user download and open an attachment is a common delivery mechanism for malware. A cybercriminal may use a false sense of urgency or importance to help persuade a user to download or open an attachment without examining it first.