1. An email warns your account closes in 24 hours. The link goes to secure-yourbank-login.co. This is:
Answer: Phishing. A deadline plus a lookalike domain is a textbook phishing pattern.
2. After a suspicious bank email, the safest way to check your account is to:
Answer: Open the app or type the address yourself. Going to the site yourself avoids the attacker’s link completely.
3. True or myth: phishing websites often show the HTTPS padlock too.
Answer: True. The padlock only means the connection is encrypted. Phishing sites use HTTPS too.
4. An email passes SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks. Is it safe?
Answer: Not necessarily — it can still be fraud. Authentication only proves which domain sent it. A compromised real mailbox or a lookalike domain can pass. Authentication passing does not mean safe.
5. Which sender address is more suspicious?
Answer: billing@yourbank-security.co. Extra words and unusual endings are common in lookalike domains. Check the part right before the last dot.
6. An attachment is called invoice.pdf.exe. You should:
Answer: Not open it — it’s a program disguised as a PDF. The real file type is the last extension. “.exe” means it runs code.
7. Thanks to AI, phishing emails are now:
Answer: Well written, so grammar is no longer a reliable clue. AI writes fluent, personalised messages in any language. Judge the request, not the spelling.
8. You entered your password on a phishing page. First step?
Answer: Change it everywhere you used it and turn on MFA. Attackers try stolen passwords on many sites. Changing them quickly limits the damage.
9. Which sign-in method resists phishing best?
Answer: Passkeys or hardware security keys. Passkeys are tied to the real website, so they don’t work on a fake one. SMS codes can be phished or relayed.
10. “HR” emails a link to view updated salary details after logging in. You:
Answer: Check with HR through a channel you know. Salary, bonus and HR notices are favourite lures because people want to open them.