Phishing Awareness Exercise

Why This Matters

Phishing is the #1 entry point for corporate breaches. As a help desk technician, I'll be the first line of defense — both responding to incidents and educating users. This project built my ability to identify phishing patterns quickly and communicate risks clearly.

Red Flags Catalog

Across the 10 email samples analyzed, I identified these recurring red flags:

• Sender domain spoofing (e.g., "support@paypa1.com" instead of paypal.com)
• Generic greetings — "Dear Customer" instead of the user's real name
• Urgency language — "Your account will be suspended in 24 hours"
• Mismatched URLs — link text says one domain, href goes to another
• Unexpected attachments (.zip, .exe, macro-enabled .docm)
• Poor grammar and unusual formatting
• Requests for credentials, SSN, or payment details via email

Case Study: "Microsoft Security Alert" Phish

One of the most convincing samples impersonated a Microsoft account security alert. Red flags identified:

Employee Awareness Guide

I distilled findings into a one-page guide structured for non-technical employees. Key sections:

• The 5 questions to ask before clicking any link
• How to hover-check a URL without clicking it
• What to do if you think you clicked something bad (report immediately, don't close browser)
• How to report a suspicious email to IT

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