As we ramp up our defense against cyberattacks – which often come in the form of phishing attacks via fake emails – it’s important to remember some of the basic safety steps we can use to protect ourselves.
Hovering your cursor
One of the easiest and most effective methods to doublecheck any link within an email is by “hovering” your cursor over the link – WITHOUT clicking or tapping on the link – in order to see what web address displays. This way, you can see if it will take you to the website you thought it would, if you clicked on the link.
If you have any doubts, do not click on the link!
Remember, it’s not the email address you should hover over with the cursor – it is any suspicious link within the email. Also, always be wary of clicking on any attachment that comes with a suspicious email.
Again, if you have any doubts, do not click on it!
Suspicious emails: What to look for
There are common clues that can help you identify a phishing attack as soon as it hits your inbox. Be on the lookout for these signs:
- Offers that are too good to be true;
- Messages that create a strong sense of urgency;
- Emails that appear to be work-related but use an email address not from balladhealth.org or one similar to balladhealth.org;
- Language, tone or signature inconsistent with the supposed sender;
- Emails that pressure you to bypass or ignore our security policies;
- Emails that contain a generic greeting;
- Emails that appear to come from the organization, but are from an external source. (Note: There is a banner at the top of any email which is always displayed when the email originates from a non-Ballad Health email account. If you see this banner, the email is external and could be a phishing attack.)
Use ‘Phish Alert’
If you have suspicions about any email you receive, DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINK. Instead, report it to our IT security team using the “Phish Alert” button near the top left of Outlook emails.
Learn more
Visit this link (it’s safe to click on!) for a short video about websites, links and understanding URLs.
