The name is only the beginning
A message can use a familiar display name while coming from an unrelated address. Read the complete address and consider what the message asks you to do.
Follow the evidence
A request for a password, an unexpected attachment, and pressure to act quickly deserve attention. A single reassuring detail does not establish trust.
- Inspect the full sender address.
- Compare the request with what you expected.
- Contact the organization through a channel you already know.
Build a repeatable habit
When a message asks you to make a sensitive change, open the service independently. Preserve suspicious messages and report them through the appropriate channel.
Practice stays in the lab. CyberQuest exercises use simulated messages and documents.