How to Spot Phishing Emails: Recognising Common Words and Terminology

How to Spot Phishing Emails: A Comprehensive Guide

In today’s digital world, knowing how to spot phishing emails is essential. Cybercriminals exploit every opportunity to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information. Recent phishing campaigns have targeted the Ukrainian military and their families, while during the Covid-19 pandemic, fraudsters inundated the public with spam emails exploiting widespread fear and uncertainty. Despite differing themes, most phishing campaigns rely on common words and phrases designed to deceive recipients.

The Language of Phishing Emails and “Spontaneous Action”

Phishing attacks are carefully crafted to manipulate recipients into taking specific actions. The language used in these emails often triggers an emotional response, leveraging psychological tactics that exploit human behaviour. For example, historical slogans such as “Keep Calm and Carry On” combined reassurance with a call to action—an approach mirrored by cybercriminals to create urgency or fear in phishing emails. Recognising these linguistic cues is critical in spotting scams.

Key Phishing Terminology

Understanding phishing terminology is vital to safeguard yourself online. Common types of phishing attacks include:

Spear-phishing: Highly targeted emails crafted using information about the recipient. These emails often address the individual by name and appeal to their role or responsibilities within an organisation, creating trust and urgency.

Email phishing campaigns: Broad, mass-targeted emails aimed at tricking users into sharing personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or phone numbers. Links usually redirect to spoofed websites to steal credentials.

Business Email Compromise (BEC): Attacks that often start with spear-phishing emails and lead to fraudulent transfers of company funds to cybercriminal accounts.

Common Words and Themes in Phishing Emails

Organisations like the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) monitor phishing campaigns worldwide, analysing subject lines, spoofed brands, and domain registrations. Research highlights that phishing emails often rely on urgency, fear, or authority to manipulate recipients. Common examples include:

• • Urgency: “Your account password has expired. Update now to maintain access.”
  • Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): “Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime offer!”
  • Emotion: “We have recorded you while visiting a website…”
  • Authority: Emails appearing from senior staff requesting urgent actions, often used in BEC attacks.

Examples of Common Phishing Words

Phishing emails frequently contain specific keywords in subject lines and body content. Some of the most common include:

• Subject Line Examples:
• Urgent
• Verification required!
• Invoice
• Need urgent help!
• Suspicious Outlook activity
• Important! Your password is about to expire
• Action required…
• Body Content Examples:
• “A vulnerability has been identified in [app name].”
• “To perform verification, click the link [hyperlink].”
• “Here is the new invoice for this week’s activities [click to access].”
• “[Tech support message] Please click here to install the latest [app].”
• “Your [app name] account has been locked for security reasons, click here to unlock it.”

While the context may change depending on current events, the tone, urgency, and keywords remain consistent.

How to Protect Yourself

Educating yourself and employees about phishing tactics is crucial. Understanding the language, themes, and common words used in phishing emails allows you to identify spoof messages before clicking links or downloading attachments. Knowledge is a powerful defence, helping individuals remain vigilant against cyber threats. Using tools like MetaCompliance Advanced Phishing Simulation software can provide practical, hands-on training by simulating realistic phishing attacks, helping employees recognise and respond to threats in a safe environment.