How can email senders and users prevent and identify phishing emails?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 20 Apr 2025
Updated 15 Aug 2025
9 min read
Phishing remains one of the most prevalent and damaging cyber threats, constantly evolving its tactics to deceive individuals and organizations. These deceptive emails, messages, or calls are designed to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data, or to trick them into installing malicious software.
The sophistication of phishing attacks makes it challenging for even the most vigilant users to differentiate legitimate communications from fraudulent ones. Attackers often impersonate trusted entities like banks, government agencies, or well-known companies, leveraging urgency and fear to provoke a quick, unthinking response.
Protecting against phishing requires a multi-faceted approach, combining robust technical measures from email senders and continuous awareness and education for users. Understanding the common characteristics of phishing attempts and implementing strong defensive strategies is paramount for safeguarding digital identities and sensitive information in today's interconnected world.
Spotting the signs of a phishing attempt
Identifying a phishing email often comes down to scrutinizing subtle clues that indicate something is amiss. Phishing attempts frequently rely on urgency, threats, or enticing offers to bypass critical thinking. Always be suspicious of emails that demand immediate action, threaten account suspension, or promise unrealistic rewards.
A key indicator is the sender's email address. Phishing emails often use addresses that appear similar to legitimate ones but have slight variations, misspellings, or entirely different domains. Similarly, generic greetings, poor grammar, and spelling errors are common red flags, as legitimate organizations typically maintain high standards for their communications.
You should also exercise extreme caution with links and attachments. Before clicking any link, hover over it to see the actual URL. If the URL doesn't match the sender's stated domain or looks suspicious, do not click it. Avoid downloading attachments from unknown or unexpected senders, as these can contain malware. Remember that even emails from trusted senders can be phishing attempts if their accounts have been compromised.
Major email providers like Gmail and MicrosoftOutlook implement advanced filters to detect and flag suspicious emails, but some can still slip through. You might notice a phishing warning in your inbox. This is a good sign that the system has identified potential deception. For more details on why your emails might be triggering these warnings, see our guide on fixing Gmail phishing warnings.
Red flag
Description
What to do
Suspicious sender
The sender's email address doesn't match the organization it claims to be from, or it contains misspellings.
Check the full email address, not just the display name.
Urgent or threatening tone
Demands immediate action, threatens account closure, legal action, or loss of access if you don't comply.
Legitimate organizations rarely use high-pressure tactics.
Generic greetings
Uses "Dear Customer" or "Valued User" instead of your name, indicating a mass phishing attempt.
Reputable senders typically personalize communications.
Poor grammar/spelling
Numerous typos, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing.
Professional organizations meticulously review their content.
Suspicious links or attachments
Links that don't match the stated destination when hovered over, or unexpected file attachments.
Never click or open if suspicious. Verify directly with the sender.
Request for personal information
Asks for passwords, social security numbers, bank details, or other sensitive data via email.
Legitimate entities will not ask for sensitive info over email.
Don't take the bait
If you receive a suspicious email, do not click on any links or download any attachments. Even interacting with a malicious link, regardless of whether you submit information, can compromise your device. If you're unsure, it's always safer to err on the side of caution and delete the email.
Bolstering email security with authentication protocols
For email senders, preventing phishing attacks that exploit your domain involves implementing robust email authentication protocols. DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are fundamental. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) lets you specify which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your outgoing emails, verifying that the message has not been tampered with in transit. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) builds on SPF and DKIM, telling recipient mail servers how to handle emails that fail authentication and providing valuable feedback reports.
Properly configuring these records significantly reduces the chances of your domain being used for spoofing and phishing. A strong DMARC policy, especially one set to p=reject, instructs recipient servers to outright reject emails claiming to be from your domain if they fail DMARC authentication. This prevents malicious actors from impersonating your brand. You can learn more about the benefits of implementing DMARC in our detailed guide.
Even with these protocols, email senders face challenges. Phishing campaigns might use lookalike domains (e.g., example.co instead of example.com) that have their own valid authentication, circumventing your DMARC policy. This is why blocklist monitoring and vigilance against brand impersonation are still vital. Regularly checking for your domain on email blacklists can help you catch these issues early. Preventing your email address from being spoofed is an ongoing battle.
Furthermore, securing internal email systems and third-party sending services is critical. Many phishing attacks occur within an organization if an employee's account is compromised, leading to internal phishing. Ensuring all third-party services that send emails on your behalf are correctly configured with your email authentication records is just as important as securing your primary domain. Regular audits of your email infrastructure can highlight vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
A p=none policy is a monitoring-only mode. It instructs recipient servers to take no action on emails that fail DMARC, but it still sends reports to the domain owner. This is useful for initial deployment and gathering insights into your email ecosystem.
Visibility: Provides comprehensive reports on all emails sent using your domain, helping identify legitimate and unauthorized sending sources.
No deliverability impact: Emails failing DMARC will still be delivered, ensuring no disruption to legitimate mail flows during the monitoring phase.
DMARC p=reject
A p=reject policy instructs recipient servers to reject emails that fail DMARC authentication. This is the strongest policy for protecting your domain from spoofing and brand impersonation, as it prevents fraudulent emails from reaching inboxes.
Spoofing prevention: Significantly reduces the ability of attackers to send emails using your domain, protecting your brand reputation and recipients.
Enhanced security: Only emails that pass DMARC authentication (and thus are verified as legitimate) will be delivered to recipients' inboxes.
Empowering users to protect themselves
While technical measures are crucial for senders, individual users play an equally important role in the fight against phishing. The most effective defense for users is continuous education and maintaining a skeptical mindset towards unsolicited communications. Regularly review tips on how to recognize and avoid phishing scams from authoritative sources.
Always verify the sender. If an email seems suspicious, do not reply or click any links. Instead, navigate directly to the official website of the organization the email claims to be from by typing the URL into your browser or using a trusted bookmark. Then, log in to your account to check for any alerts or messages directly. This simple step can prevent most phishing attempts from succeeding.
Using strong, unique passwords for all your online accounts, combined with two-factor authentication (2FA), adds a vital layer of security. Even if a phishing attempt manages to capture your password, 2FA can prevent unauthorized access. Be especially wary of emails that request you to update your password via a direct link; always do this by logging into the service directly.
Furthermore, ensure that your operating system, web browser, and antivirus software are always up to date. Software updates often include security patches that protect against the latest cyber threats. Consider using a reputable antivirus or anti-malware solution that can help detect and block malicious content before it harms your system.
User awareness is your first line of defense
No technical measure is foolproof. Human vigilance remains critical. Regularly educate yourself and your team on current phishing tactics. Encourage a culture of caution, where suspicious emails are reported rather than acted upon immediately.
Responding to suspected phishing emails
If you suspect you've received a phishing email, the first and most important step is to avoid interacting with it further. Do not click on any links, open any attachments, or reply to the sender. Even if the email looks highly convincing, resist the urge to react impulsively, especially if it invokes a sense of urgency or fear. Your immediate inaction is your strongest defense at this point.
Next, report the suspicious email. Most email providers have a "Report Phishing" or "Report Spam" button that sends the email for analysis and helps improve detection filters. If it's an email impersonating a specific company or government agency, consider forwarding it to their official abuse reporting email address, if one is publicly available. After reporting, delete the email from your inbox and trash folder.
If you or someone in your organization has unfortunately fallen victim to a phishing scam (e.g., clicked a malicious link, entered credentials, or downloaded an attachment), immediate action is paramount. Change all potentially compromised passwords, especially for the service that was impersonated. Enable two-factor authentication on all accounts if not already active.
Additionally, run a full scan of your device using reputable antivirus or anti-malware software to detect and remove any potential threats. Monitor your financial accounts and credit reports for any suspicious activity. If sensitive personal information (like your social security number) was exposed, consider placing a fraud alert on your credit. Swift action can mitigate much of the potential damage from a successful phishing attack. This also applies to preventing brand and sender impersonation.
Always report and delete
Reporting phishing emails, even those caught by spam filters, helps email providers and security researchers improve their detection algorithms. Your contribution helps protect others from similar attacks.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Implement DMARC with a p=reject policy to actively prevent domain spoofing and strengthen your brand's email security profile.
Conduct regular, mandatory phishing awareness training for all employees, including simulated phishing attacks, to improve their ability to recognize threats.
Use secure email gateways and advanced spam filters to block a majority of phishing attempts before they reach employee inboxes.
Require strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all employee accounts and systems.
Regularly audit third-party email sending services to ensure their SPF and DKIM records are correctly configured and aligned with your domain's DMARC policy.
Common pitfalls
Relying solely on email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) without complementing it with user education and robust endpoint security measures.
Using a DMARC p=none policy indefinitely, which provides visibility but doesn't actively prevent domain spoofing or stop fraudulent emails.
Ignoring DMARC reports, which contain crucial data about legitimate and fraudulent email sources using your domain, preventing timely threat mitigation.
Failing to update and patch email clients, operating systems, and security software, leaving vulnerabilities open for exploitation.
Not having a clear incident response plan for when a phishing attack is successful, delaying remediation and increasing potential damage.
Expert tips
Encourage users to verify suspicious requests by directly contacting the organization via phone or their official website, not by replying to the email or clicking embedded links.
Advise employees to be wary of emails that create a sense of urgency or fear, as these are common psychological tactics used in phishing attacks.
Remind users that legitimate organizations will never ask for sensitive personal or financial information via email.
Educate users on how to check the full sender email address and hover over links to inspect the true destination URL before clicking.
Stress the importance of reporting all suspicious emails to IT or security teams, even if they appear harmless, to help improve an organization's defense mechanisms.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says DMARC is essential for email security, as scammers often exploit organizations that haven't implemented it. The Vox video provides a good overview of how DMARC works and its importance in preventing domain spoofing.
2020-04-05 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says while DMARC provides valuable reporting, its direct impact on stopping phishing is limited because many email clients don't prominently display the 'From' email address. They also noted that having a strong DMARC policy might be problematic for organizations that send a lot of communications, as they risk legitimate emails being blocked.
2020-04-05 - Email Geeks
A layered approach to email security
Phishing attacks will continue to be a significant threat in the digital landscape, but their impact can be significantly minimized through a combination of diligent technical implementation and ongoing user awareness. For email senders, this means embracing and enforcing email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to protect your domain's integrity and prevent impersonation.
For users, the key lies in developing a healthy skepticism, recognizing common phishing cues, and knowing the correct response when a suspicious email arrives. By staying informed, verifying communications through trusted channels, and promptly reporting potential scams, both senders and recipients can form a strong, layered defense against these insidious cyber threats.
Gmail and 
MicrosoftOutlook implement advanced filters to detect and flag suspicious emails, but some can still slip through. You might notice a phishing warning in your inbox. This is a good sign that the system has identified potential deception. For more details on why your emails might be triggering these warnings, see our guide on fixing Gmail phishing warnings.
