Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
✴️ A friend received a fairly convincing phishing attempt. I'll cover the signs that showed it was bogus.
✴️ 7 Signs of Phishing
- The message is received out of the blue with no prior context.
- The message contains no additional explanation for whatever you’re supposed to click on.
- Bogus or meaningless filenames for promised documents.
- Your email address does not appear in the “To:” line.
- The message consists of an image of text rather than a mix of images and text.
- A bogus link destination, or a destination inconsistent with the promised document.
- While any of these can happen in legitimate email, each should give you pause. Multiple instances in the same email should cause you to question the legitimacy of the message.
Updates, related links, and more discussion: askleo.com/136589
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✅ Watch next ▶ What Is a Pig-Butchering Scam? ▶ youtu.be/VIjviaKra54
Chapters
0:00 Signs of a Phishing Attack
0:25 An example phishing email
1:20 It's out of the blue
1:39 Has no context
1:58 Random file names
2:22 suspicious To line
2:36 Entire email is an image
2:00 Link destination bogus
3:55 Techie clues
4:30 SPF and DKIM
5:18 Why didn't a spam filter catch it
5:50 What happens if you click
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❤️ My Most Important Article: go.askleo.com/number1
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#askleo #phishing #email
✴️ A friend received a fairly convincing phishing attempt. I'll cover the signs that showed it was bogus.
✴️ 7 Signs of Phishing
- The message is received out of the blue with no prior context.
- The message contains no additional explanation for whatever you’re supposed to click on.
- Bogus or meaningless filenames for promised documents.
- Your email address does not appear in the “To:” line.
- The message consists of an image of text rather than a mix of images and text.
- A bogus link destination, or a destination inconsistent with the promised document.
- While any of these can happen in legitimate email, each should give you pause. Multiple instances in the same email should cause you to question the legitimacy of the message.
Updates, related links, and more discussion: askleo.com/136589
🔔 Subscribe to the Ask Leo! YouTube channel for more tech videos & answers: go.askleo.com/ytsub
✅ Watch next ▶ What Is a Pig-Butchering Scam? ▶ youtu.be/VIjviaKra54
Chapters
0:00 Signs of a Phishing Attack
0:25 An example phishing email
1:20 It's out of the blue
1:39 Has no context
1:58 Random file names
2:22 suspicious To line
2:36 Entire email is an image
2:00 Link destination bogus
3:55 Techie clues
4:30 SPF and DKIM
5:18 Why didn't a spam filter catch it
5:50 What happens if you click
❤️ My best articles: go.askleo.com/best
❤️ My Most Important Article: go.askleo.com/number1
More Ask Leo!
☑️ askleo.com to get your questions answered
☑️ newsletter.askleo.com to subscribe to the Confident Computing newsletter.
☑️ askleo.com/patron to help support Ask Leo!
☑️ askleo.com/all-the-different-ways-to-get-ask-leo for even more!
#askleo #phishing #email
