When it comes to your company's network, every possible point of entry is a vulnerability. Email servers are particularly susceptible to potential attacks, so many cybersecurity problems stem from phishing messages. These are fraudulent emails designed to trick the recipient into giving up personal or financial information. Thankfully, these scams often come with a few distinct characteristics. To ensure your network and employees are safe, train your staff to be on the lookout for the following. 

How to Identify Suspicious Emails

1. Widespread Spelling & Grammatical Errors

Poor writing is a cybersecurity red flag. Emails from professional sources should never have multiple typos or odd sentence structures. Follow-up customer service messages from named individuals could have one or two misspellings, but automated emails from legitimate companies should be free of errors. 

2. Requests for Personal Information

No legitimate company will ask you to send personal information via email. Even if the message looks official, tell employees not to trust it if it asks for their credit card or social security number, mailing address, or company data.

Although there are a few situations in which an institution would require these pieces of information, they'll usually ask you to make changes through their website or call you directly.

3. Urgency 

Scams will often place a short time limit on which people need to act on their requests, such as one or two days. Most legitimate entities won't demand immediate action from you, unless it's an emergency. If you're not certain, you can verify the request by contacting them through other means, such as by phone or visiting one of their locations in person. Legitimate businesses don't want you to panic, particularly via email.

Although these tips will be useful for training your employees, they aren't substitutes for a professionally fortified network. If you're looking for managed cybersecurity services, Network Solutions & Technology will set you up with a plan tailored to your company and its needs. For nearly 20 years, this company has provided comprehensive IT services for small- to medium-sized businesses in the New York metropolitan area. Learn more about their cybersecurity offerings on their website, or call (877) 678-8080 to schedule an appointment.