Think You Can Spot A Phishing Email? Think Again.

Posted: 26th October 2026

Think your team can spot a dodgy email a mile off? That's a good start. But what happens when a fraudulent message looks exactly like a legitimate request from someone they know and trust?

Phishing attacks have come a long way from the badly spelt emails promising lottery winnings. Today's scams can imitate colleagues, suppliers and senior decision-makers with alarming accuracy. And when a convincing email lands in a busy inbox, even experienced employees can be caught out.

For businesses, the answer isn't simply more reminders to ‘think before you click’. It's about building security processes that protect the business even when someone gets it wrong.

Phishing attacks are getting harder to spot

The obvious warning signs aren't always there anymore. Emails can look professional, use familiar language and arrive in the middle of a genuine business conversation. Some even come from compromised accounts belonging to people the recipient already knows, with familiar signatures and logos to boot!

Artificial intelligence adds another layer to the problem, making it easier for criminals to produce convincing messages at scale. Poor spelling and suspicious grammar are no longer reliable indicators that something is wrong.

The UK government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 found that 38% of businesses had experienced phishing attacks in the previous 12 months.

When one email becomes an expensive mistake

These days, phishing isn't always about stealing passwords. Increasingly, the goal is to persuade someone to take financial action, whether that's transferring money, updating account details or granting access to business systems.

Imagine your finance team receives an email from a regular supplier explaining that their bank details have changed. The message looks genuine, the invoice is expected, and the explanation sounds reasonable.

This is a common approach to payment fraud and business email compromise. Criminals exploit trusted business relationships to make fraudulent requests appear routine. They don't need to break into your finance system if they can persuade someone to send money voluntarily.

This same approach could be used to impersonate a managing director requesting an urgent payment, or a colleague asking for sensitive customer information.

These scams don't succeed because employees are foolish. They succeed because people are busy, work under pressure and naturally trust familiar contacts.

Stop relying on people to spot every scam

Cyber security awareness training remains important. Employees need to know how to spot and report suspicious emails and understand the risks of unexpected requests.

But training alone has limitations. Even the most experienced employee can make a mistake, particularly when an email arrives during a hectic afternoon and appears to come from someone they trust.

This is where cyber security processes make a real difference. For example:

1. For a change to supplier bank details, request that any amendments be verified using a known telephone number or other established contact method. Never rely on email alone or use contact details provided within an email request.

2. For significant payments, consider second approval of the transaction. That approval should involve an independent check, not simply another pair of eyes looking at the same convincing email.

3. Apply the same principle to requests for confidential information. Establish clear rules about what can be shared, who can authorise it and how unusual requests must be verified.

These safeguards will introduce checks at points of vulnerability and where a mistake could have serious consequences.

What happens if someone clicks anyway?

Even with sensible precautions, you should plan for the possibility of someone clicking a malicious link or disclosing sensitive information to the wrong person.

Employees need to know how to report a suspicious message quickly, without worrying about being blamed for making a mistake. Having a clearly communicated process for reporting potential account compromises and taking the appropriate action can reassure people that mistakes can be dealt with.

Such a process might look like this:

1. Report it immediately. If an employee clicks a suspicious link, enters their credentials or shares sensitive information, they should contact their IT team or support provider straight away. No waiting to see what happens, and definitely no hoping it'll somehow sort itself out.

2. Contain the risk. Your IT team can assess what happened and take appropriate steps to secure the account or device. This might include revoking active sessions, resetting compromised credentials, checking for suspicious activity and isolating a device if necessary.

3. Investigate and learn. Once the immediate risk is under control, establish what happened and what needs to change to prevent a repeat. No need to name-and-shame, but it is also important to share the event and how it came about with your wider teams - it’s a stark reminder it can happen to anyone at any time.

Make security part of your core business processes

You don't need to overhaul every process overnight. Just start with a few practical questions.

Could someone change a supplier's bank details based on an email alone? Can a substantial payment be authorised without an independent check? If an employee's account were compromised, how much sensitive information could an attacker access?

Then look at your existing protections. Are employees confident about reporting suspicious messages? Are unusual requests verified consistently? Does your IT provider help you review risks proactively, or does the conversation only happen when something goes wrong?

The answers to these questions can reveal simple, necessary improvements that can close significant security gaps.

We’re more than IT support - we’re cyber security specialists

Phishing attacks will continue to evolve, and no business can eliminate every risk. But you can make it much harder for a convincing email to turn into a costly mistake.

Combining employee training with sensible processes can be all it takes for your business to operate confidently and safely. 

Our managed IT services are designed to keep your systems secure, while our free cyber security awareness training helps your team recognise phishing attacks and minimise damage.

If you’d like to understand where your vulnerabilities are and how to reduce them, get in touch. We’re always happy to share our expertise.