Opening emails is a task that millions of people do multiple times a day for work, and we often do this on autopilot. But, in our digital age, we have to be mindful when opening emails because there are risks involved if someone breaches security and gains access to sensitive business information. Even when you’re confident in your disaster relief plan and IT support in Nashville, you should still make sure you and your employees aren’t making these common mistakes when opening emails.

#1: Not looking closely at the sender’s address

Just because you see a name that you trust as the sender’s address doesn’t mean that it’s from the person, businesses, or brand you think it is. Look carefully to make sure it matches who you are communicating with, and it doesn’t have any different characters, letters, or numbers. Cybercriminals will pose as everything from a bank that wants you to update your account to a store that is trying to send a free gift, so be on alert, even if you have corresponded with the entity in the past.

#2: Forwarding emails without verifying links

Forwarding links via email is a common way to get hacked because the person that receives it is getting it from a trusted email. Even if the link appears to be the correct address when written out in the email make sure you verify it by hovering your mouse over it. If the link in the email doesn’t match the link that shows up when you hover over it, then you need to let IT support know instead of forwarding it to a co-worker.

Dangerous attachments can also be a problem. Both dangerous attachments and links can be difficult to detect because they’re disguised by cyber criminals, so when in doubt, don’t forward or send it, but reach out to IT support.

#4: Disclosing sensitive information

When you get an email out of the blue saying you won a contest, stop and ask yourself if you even entered one. Or, if your bank sends an emergency email saying your account was hacked and they need information to protect it, consider if they have ever used this method to communicate with you before. It’s better to pick up the phone and call the company to find out if the deal is real before disclosing sensitive information.

#5: Not having a disaster plan in place

You need to be prepared just in case security is breached due to the wrong email being opened or handled. If you don’t have a disaster plan, reach out to get Nashville IT support involved. Not only can the experts create a plan for you in case of an emergency, but we can strengthen your security and firewalls, and provide real-time monitoring to prevent issues from occurring proactively. The more prepared you are for cyber criminals, and the more informed your employees are when handling emails; the more efficient all of your systems will run!