September 24, 2026

The sketchy email: signs that don't lie

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Most of the attacks we see at small businesses don't start with a movie-style hacker. They start with an email. One that looks normal, sent on a Tuesday afternoon when everyone's busy.

Signs that should make you raise an eyebrow

• Urgency. "Your account will be closed in 24 hours", "Overdue payment, act now". Scammers want you to click before you think.
• The sender's address. The display name says "Microsoft" or one of your suppliers, but the full address comes from an unrelated domain. Sometimes just one letter is different.
• A link that doesn't go where it says. On a computer, hover over the link without clicking: the real address shows up in the corner of the screen.
• An unusual request. A supplier suddenly changing their banking details, a boss asking you to buy gift cards. That's a phone call to make, not an email to answer.
• The surprise attachment. An invoice you weren't expecting, a zip file, a document asking you to "enable content".

What we do on our end

For our managed clients, filters block a good share of these emails before they arrive, and the security tool on each computer watches what happens if someone clicks anyway. But no filter is perfect. Your best reflex is still a healthy dose of doubt.

You clicked? Don't panic

It happens to the best of us. The worst thing is to say nothing. Call us right away: the sooner we know, the simpler it is to fix. And nobody's going to give you a hard time.