Spotting a phishing email: five quick checks
Updated 8 November 2026 · Security
A thirty-second routine for any message that asks you to click, pay or sign in, and what to do when one slips through.
Five checks
- Who is it really from? Look at the actual address, not the display name. A supplier writing from a free email account, or a domain one letter off, is a warning sign.
- Is there pressure? "Today only", "your account will be closed", "the boss needs this now". Urgency is the tool, not the message.
- Where does the link go? Hover before you click (press and hold on a phone). If the address does not match the company, do not click.
- Is it asking for something unusual? New banking details, gift cards, a password, a code from your phone. None of these are ever needed by email.
- Did you expect it? An invoice you were not expecting, a shared file from someone you have not worked with, a delivery you did not order.
If in doubt
Do not reply to the message. Contact the sender a different way, using a number or address you already have. Or forward it to us at hello@bitnode.tech and we will check it.
If you already clicked or replied
You are not in trouble; speed matters more than blame. Call us on +1 (778) 779-7127 right away. Change the password you used, from a different device if you can, and tell us whether you entered a code from your phone. The sooner we know, the smaller the clean-up.
Changed banking details
Treat any request to change where payments go as suspicious until confirmed by phone with a person you know at the supplier, on a number you already had. This one check stops most payment fraud.
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