While email services are improving their ability to detect phishing attempts, some will still make it through. At that point, it is up to you to identify phishing emails and take appropriate action. But how good are you at identifying phishing emails?
Jigsaw, an Alphabet subsidiary, collaborated with Google, another Alphabet subsidiary, to develop a quiz. This is intended to test your ability to identify phishing emails and aligns with Jigsaw’s claim that it “uses technology to make the world safer.”
Test Your Ability to Spot Phishing Emails.
Google’s Phishing Quiz tests you on eight real-life phishing scenarios. It is your responsibility to determine which of the emails are legitimate and which are attempts to steal your login credentials. And it’s much more difficult than you might expect.
The examples ranged from Google Docs emails to password change requests. As you progress through the quiz, you’ll learn what to look for when trying to identify phishing emails. This includes lookalike URLs, typos, and insecure domains.
I got an 8 out of 8, which is useful given my job. I tend to err on the side of caution, which is why I provided a fictitious name and email. After all, it’s a phishing quiz, and Google’s first question requires you to provide identifying information.
In a Medium post, Jigsaw product manager Justin Henck stated:
“We developed this quiz after conducting security trainings with nearly 10,000 journalists, activists, and political leaders from Ukraine to Syria to Ecuador. We researched the most recent techniques used by attackers and created the quiz to teach people how to identify them.
We Help You Spot Phishing Emails.
It is an unfortunate reality that you must keep your wits about you when using the internet these days. And it appears that people are particularly vulnerable to phishing attempts. The key is to keep your wits about you and hover over links before clicking.
Regardless of how well you did on Google’s Phishing Quiz, it’s worthwhile to read up on the subject. We recommend learning how to identify phishing emails. After that, focus on learning vishing and smishing techniques.
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