While email services are getting better at filtering out phishing attempts, some will inevitably get through. And at that point the onus is on you to spot phishing emails and act accordingly. But how good are you at spotting phishing emails?
Jigsaw, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has teamed up with Google, also a subsidiary of Alphabet, to create a quiz. This is designed to test your ability to spot phishing emails, and fits in with Jigsaw’s claim that it “uses technology to make the world safer”.
Test Your Ability to Spot Phishing Emails
Google’s Phishing Quiz tests you with eight examples inspired by real-life phishing attempts. It’s your job to determine which of the emails are legit, and which are an attempt to steal your login credentials. And it’s a lot harder than you might think.
The examples used range from Google Docs emails to requests to change passwords. As you work your way through the quiz, you’ll be shown what to look for when trying to spot phishing emails. This includes lookalike URLs, typos, and insecure domains.
I managed to score 8 out of 8, which is useful given my job. I tend to err on the side of caution, which is why I gave a fake name and email address. After all, it’s a quiz about phishing, and the first thing Google does is ask you to provide identifying information.
In a post on Medium, Justin Henck, Jigsaw Product Manager, said:
“We created this quiz based on the security trainings we’ve held with nearly 10,000 journalists, activists, and political leaders around the world from Ukraine to Syria to Ecuador. We’ve studied the latest techniques attackers use, and designed the quiz to teach people how to spot them.”
We Help You Spot Phishing Emails
It’s an unfortunate truth that you need to have your wits about you when using the internet these days. And it seems people are especially vulnerable to phishing attempts. The key is have your wits about you, and hover over links before clicking on them.
Regardless of how well you did at Google’s Phishing Quiz, it pays to read up on the subject. With that in mind we suggest learning how to spot a phishing email. And when you’re done with that you should learn all about vishing and smishing.
Read the full article: This Google Quiz Will Help You Spot Phishing Emails