We’ve all seen news stories circulating about phishing emails, from criminals who are trying to steal our data or get hold of money. These days, the scams are highly sophisticated, and it’s easy to get caught out by them.
Outlook does a good job of filtering out emails which could be a potential scam, but some can still slip through the net. Here are some simple steps to help you check if an email you’ve received is a scam.
Steps:
Hover over the link to preview the URL – is it going to an address you recognise or expect?
Check for strange spelling in the headers and footers (e.g. Amaz0n instead of Amazon)
Be cautious if you are being asked to urgently take action, or do something that you would not normally do
Check for content in the body that has been misspelled or looks strange – sometimes these are written by AI or translated and the way it’s written feels off.
Phishing breaches are the most common kind of cybersecurity threat faced by businesses. UK Government backed research done by KPMG in 2025 estimates the cost of phishing scams as £14.7billion each year. One wrong click can compromise your entire system and your business.
