Phishing Examples - The Usual Suspects

Phishing emails often follows certain themes. This article contains examples received by NIC along with pointers on how to recognize them.

Introduction and Pointers

Although some phishing emails can appear to be convincing at first glance, one or more of the following indicators will give it away as phishing

• Call to action: you are instructed to do something (e.g. click a link to pay a bill, view something that's shared with you)
• There are many words but no actual information: Apart from your email address, there is no information specific to you
• Un-expected: You receive invoices, delivery notices, letters from the bank or friends that don't have anything to do with you
• Information mismatches: For example the sender address isn't related to the company it says it's from
• Too good to be true: The message claims you've won a prize in a competition you never entered or you have a refund waiting for you for something you've never been involved with

How good are your phishing detection skills?

Click on the following examples to see what you can find. Each example has the original followed by the indicators that give it away as phishing.

 

1a - FedEx Package Delivery

2a - Undeliverable: Congratulations - Your $100 Reward Is Waiting

3a - Contact Details

4a - David Morgan shared a file with you