Phishing emails trick people into clicking malicious links, downloading malware, or handing over credentials by impersonating trusted senders. Recognizing the warning signs before clicking is the single most effective defense a small business has against email-based attacks.
What Is Phishing and Why Small Businesses Are Targeted
Phishing is a type of social engineering attack where criminals send fraudulent emails designed to steal your login credentials, install malware on your computer, or trick you into sending money. The emails are crafted to look like they come from someone you trust: Microsoft, your bank, a vendor, or even your own CEO.
Small businesses are prime targets for phishing because they typically have fewer security layers in place, less frequent employee training, and higher-trust environments where people are less likely to question an email from a colleague. Attackers know this, and they exploit it. The average cost of a successful phishing attack on a small business ranges from $25,000 to over $100,000 when you factor in downtime, recovery, and potential data breach notification costs.
Red Flag 1: Urgency and Pressure Tactics
Phishing emails almost always try to create a sense of panic. You will see subject lines and body text like "Your account will be suspended in 24 hours," "Immediate action required," or "Respond within the hour to avoid service disruption." The goal is to bypass your critical thinking by making you feel like you need to act right now without stopping to verify.
Legitimate companies rarely threaten immediate consequences via email. If Microsoft or your bank actually needed you to take urgent action, they would typically notify you through their app, your account dashboard, or by phone. An email demanding you click a link immediately is a red flag, every time.
Red Flag 2: Sender Address Does Not Match
This is one of the easiest things to check, and one of the most commonly missed. The display name in your inbox might say "Microsoft Support," but if you look at the actual email address, it reads something like support@m1crosoft-alerts.com. That is not Microsoft.
To check the actual sender address in Outlook, hover over or click the sender name to reveal the full email address. On a phone, tap the sender name to expand the details. Look closely for swapped letters (rn instead of m), extra characters, or domains that do not match the company's real website. If a vendor you work with has always emailed you from billing@acmecorp.com and suddenly sends from billing@acme-corp-invoices.com, that is suspicious.
Red Flag 3: Suspicious Links
Before clicking any link in an email, hover your mouse over it (without clicking) to see where it actually leads. The displayed text might say "Sign in to your account," but the underlying URL could point to a completely different domain. Look for misspelled domains, extra subdomains (like microsoft.login.suspicious-site.com), or unfamiliar URLs.
Shortened URLs from services like bit.ly or tinyurl in business emails are almost always suspicious. Legitimate companies link to their own domains. If you are unsure about a link, open a new browser tab and navigate directly to the company's website instead of clicking the link in the email.
Red Flag 4: Unexpected Attachments
If you were not expecting a file from a particular sender, do not open it. Dangerous file types include .exe, .zip, .docm (macro-enabled Word documents), and .html files. Even PDFs and standard Word documents can contain malicious content.
When in doubt, confirm with the sender through a separate channel. Call them, send a Teams message, or walk over to their desk. Do not reply to the suspicious email to ask if it is legitimate, because if the sender's account was compromised, the attacker will respond and tell you it is safe.
Red Flag 5: Requests for Credentials or Sensitive Information
No legitimate service will ever ask you for your password via email. Messages like "Please verify your password by clicking here" or "Update your payment information to avoid service interruption" are phishing attempts. Common targets include fake Microsoft 365 sign-in pages, bank portals, and payroll systems.
If you receive an email asking you to log in to any service, do not use the link in the email. Open a new browser tab, go directly to the service's website, and log in from there. If there is a real issue with your account, you will see it after you sign in.
Red Flag 6: Generic Greetings and Poor Formatting
Phishing emails often use generic greetings like "Dear Customer" or "Dear User" instead of your actual name. They may also contain grammatical errors, odd phrasing, or inconsistent formatting like mixed fonts, misaligned logos, or low-resolution images.
One important caveat: AI-generated phishing emails are getting significantly better at grammar and formatting. A well-written email is not proof that it is legitimate. Always check the other red flags on this list, even if the writing looks professional.
What to Do If You Suspect a Phishing Email
Follow these steps in order:
- Do not click any links or open any attachments in the email.
- Do not reply to the email.
- Report it to your IT team or managed service provider immediately. A quick report lets them investigate and warn others before anyone else falls for the same email.
- Use the Report Message button in Outlook. If your company uses Microsoft 365, the Report Message add-in lets you flag suspicious emails directly from your inbox. Click the Report Message button in the ribbon and select Phishing. This reports the message to Microsoft and your admin, and moves it out of your inbox. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 uses these reports to improve its filtering for your entire organization.
- If you already clicked a link or entered credentials, report it to your IT team immediately and change your password from a known-safe device. Do not wait.
Building a Phishing-Resistant Team
Technology helps, but people are the last line of defense against phishing. Building a team that can spot phishing consistently requires ongoing effort.
Run regular security awareness training. At minimum, train employees quarterly on how to recognize phishing, social engineering, and BEC attacks. Huntress provides security awareness training (SAT) as part of its platform, combining phishing simulations with targeted training modules that adapt based on how employees perform. This approach measures actual behavior rather than just checking a compliance box.
Run simulated phishing tests. Simulated phishing campaigns send fake phishing emails to your team and track who clicks. This is not about catching people doing something wrong. It is about identifying who needs more training and measuring improvement over time. When someone clicks a simulated phishing link, they should immediately see a brief training message explaining what they missed.
Create a no-blame culture for reporting. If employees are afraid of getting in trouble for reporting a suspicious email (or even for clicking one), they will stay quiet. That silence is far more dangerous than the click itself. Make it clear that reporting a suspicious email is always the right thing to do, and that reporting a mistake quickly is valued, not punished.
Establish a clear reporting process. Every employee should know exactly what to do when they see a suspicious email. Post the process somewhere visible: on the intranet, in the breakroom, or as a pinned message in your company's Teams channel. The simpler the process, the more likely people are to follow it.
How Technology Helps Block Phishing
Even with a well-trained team, some phishing emails are convincing enough to fool anyone. That is where email security technology comes in.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, included with Microsoft 365 Business Premium, provides Safe Attachments (scans email attachments in a sandbox before delivering them), Safe Links (rewrites URLs and checks them at click time), and anti-phishing policies that detect impersonation attempts. These features catch many phishing emails before they ever reach your team's inbox.
Athencia layers Huntress on top of Microsoft Defender for Business on every managed endpoint, providing a 24/7 SOC with human threat hunters who actively investigate and respond to alerts. If a phishing email does slip through and an employee downloads something malicious, Huntress catches the resulting suspicious behavior on the endpoint and responds before damage spreads.
The combination of email filtering, endpoint protection, and trained employees creates multiple layers of defense. No single layer is perfect, but together they make a successful phishing attack far less likely.
Need Help?
Phishing is the most common way small businesses get breached, and it only takes one click. If you want help setting up email security, running phishing simulations, or training your team, contact Athencia. We will help you build a defense that works.
