What is Phishing and How Do You Detect It?

Article written by: Eshaan Jagpal

Article designed by:  Eshaan Jagpal & Palak Tiwari

Introduction:

Imagine scrolling through your emails and you find one that reads “Congratulations! You have won a free trip to Hawaii! The offer ends soon! Hurry and click here to redeem your vacation!” You are overwhelmed with excitement, and you click the link immediately without checking the URL or the sender. Once you are on the page, you don’t see any of the details of the vacation, and no way to claim it, which makes you very suspicious. Suddenly, you receive alerts that multiple of your account passwords have been changed even though you know it wasn’t you. You are now locked out of your accounts forever, with minimal hope of retrieving your accounts. This is just one of the many horrible scenarios that can occur from a phishing attack.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of cyber attack where the attacker sends the target an email, message, or even a phone call. Attackers usually try to make their phishing attempts more believable by finding any known contact information of the target, creating fake apps or websites, domain and email spoofing, and changing URL links slightly so they look like the real ones. An attacker’s main goal behind a phishing attack is money. With a phishing attack, an attacker can either use the stolen information for themselves or sell the information to others with malicious intent. While in possession of the target’s personal information, they could ask the target for a sum of money as a ransom for the target to retrieve their information.

What are the Signs of Possible Phishing Attempts?

Although it might seem really hard to find out if you are a potential target for a phishing

attempt, there are many signals that are easy to spot. Some phishing attempts may contain a message to the target on how they won something big like a free vacation or a certain amount of money. If you see an email containing this, the email is a potential phishing attempt. Another sign is if you receive an email or message from someone who is labeled as an “unknown sender”. If you see this, make sure to check the content of the email very carefully just in case it is a possible phishing attempt. A very important way to check if you are a potential target of a phishing attempt is to carefully look at the URL of the link the email or message wants you to click. Attackers usually send a link pretending to be a reputable business but in reality, they changed a few letters in the name to trick the target into clicking the link.

How Can You Make Sure You’re Protected?

There are many ways for you to make sure you are protected under potential phishing attempts. One thing you can do is turn on two-factor authentication. This makes it where if there is a potential login attempt into your account, you will receive an alert on your phone or through your email to make sure it is actually you trying to log in. Another thing you can do is to make sure you install antivirus software onto your system. This makes it where regular scans are completed on your computer and you will receive feedback if there were any potential threats.

Conclusion

Phishing is one of the most common types of cyber attacks in today’s society. With that being said, there are a lot of ways to prevent one from being tricked from a phishing attack. If you are careful about what link you are clicking on, paying attention to who sends what email, using antivirus software, and using multi-factor authentication, the chances of you falling for a phishing attack is highly unlikely. In conclusion, being mindful about digital safety will help create a safe space for you and others online.

Works Cited

“Common Indicators of Phishing Attacks.” Technology Solutions, https://www.technologysolutions.net/blog/common-indicators-of-phishing-attacks/. Accessed 4 October 2025.

Rosenkrantz, Holly. “What Is Phishing? Spot It to Avoid Scams | Trusted Since 1922.” Reader's Digest, 4 September 2024, https://www.rd.com/article/what-is-phishing/. Accessed 4 October 2025.

“10 Tips for Employees to Prevent Phishing Attacks.” Splashtop, https://www.splashtop.com/blog/10-tips-employees-prevent-phishing. Accessed 4 October 2025.

“What Is Phishing?” Phishing.org, https://www.phishing.org/what-is-phishing. Accessed 4 October 2025.

“What is phishing? | Phishing attack prevention.” Cloudflare, https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/access-management/phishing-attack/. Accessed 4 October 2025.