In the new age of internet and communication, security and trust are the most important things, life on the internet can be dangerous and reak havoc with a business if used incorrectly.

One of the fastest-growing ways hackers are trying to steal data from a business is by using emails to steal account usernames and passwords, personally I see them all the time and I have gotten quite quick at spotting the fake from the real, here are a few tips to help you do the same.

The Email Domain.

An email address is primarily built from two parts, the identifier or send/receivers name and the domain, for example, our email noreply@takethreemedia.com’s domain is “takethreemedia.com” and the Send/Receiver is noreply, this is the first thing we recommend you check if the email domain is ok then it’s most likely from that person.

But what if its a hacked email and a hacker trying to trick me?

Well, this is possible, here’s what I recommend, give the person a call and ask them if they sent it, it’s as simple as that, if they have had their email stolen they will grateful to know.

Work Account Login

In some instances, you may receive an email from a client to view a document that requires an office.com login, I’m seeing this on a weekly basis and helping staff to understand that they are literally giving their details is hard, so we have a security check and here’s how it works.

  1. Check the URL Domain, is it an office domain at the start? it should be office.com/xxx or xxx.office.com/
  2. The Padlock, in front of the domain, is a little padlock that will tell you who has authorised a security certificate and who it was for if you click it, then click “certificate” you will see a dialogue giving you this information, for office365 you might see Issued By Microsoft IT TLS CA 5, Issued To portal.office.com, this shows it’s for office.com and by Microsoft, this information cant be spoofed and is provided by your browser so its a great check before you give your password up.

Ask your administrator

If you see something that looks not quite right or has an older style to it then ask your IT admin, they will always assist you with security issues, its one of the main and most complicated sections of the IT industry so have some respect for it!