How to Spot and Prevent Phishing in Your Business Operations?

Phishing attacks are becoming more common across the UK. They’re also becoming more sophisticated. These attacks are hitting organisations of all sizes. This includes fraudulent invoices, fake login pages, and more.

Cybercriminals can spoof addresses and copy brand assets in minutes. So you can’t rely on your gut feeling like in the past.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to recognise phishing attempts, explain why they are such a threat to daily operations, and look at some of the measures, both human and technical, that can help keep attackers at bay.

A Look at What Phishing Is

Phishing is a form of social engineering. In its simplest form, it’s an attempt to trick someone.

The goal is to get them to reveal sensitive information or credentials. Sometimes the goal might be installing malicious software. Attackers might:

• Pose as a supplier and request payment to a new account.
• Send a file that claims to be a delivery note but installs ransomware.
• Spoof a colleague’s address and ask for login credentials so they can “open a help ticket” or “fix a system glitch”.

Once the attacker is inside, they can do anything. They can alter financial data, steal intellectual property, and more. They can even stop or sabotage production systems.

Recovery costs for incidents like this will often dwarf the initial theft. There are costs to investigating and rebuilding servers, notifying customers and stakeholders, and meeting regulatory duties.

The 2024 Internet Crime Report shows that 2024 losses topped $16 billion, more than a 33% increase over 2023.

For individual IT teams, every incident takes resources away from forward-looking projects. Instead, it directs them to emergency response.

Common Signs of Phishing Attempts

Each phishing attempt will be unique. But they keep growing more polished and convincing with each passing fiscal year.

That said, there are still some traits that they all share to one degree or another.

1. Odd sender details. Even though the sender’s name may look genuine, some underlying domain details won’t be. Look for extra characters or unfamiliar extensions.
2. Generic greetings. Look for messages that start with “Dear customer” or “Attention user”. It is usually a red flag that it’s a mass messaging effort.
3. Spelling and grammar slip-ups. Most criminal groups use corporate templates, and usually leave at least small errors. So, check carefully for punctuation or spacing errors.
4. Urgent requests for immediate action. Warnings with time-bound requirements for action generally cause us to think twice before opening or clicking.
5. Unexpected attachments or links. Invoices, policy updates, shipping labels, or other things you didn’t ask for or aren’t pertinent to your business channel warrant closer inspection.

Employee Training

Technology can catch and filter thousands of malicious emails sent to your inbox every week.

However, one errant or careless click could undo that protection. Since your staff are your first and last line of defence, keeping them expertly trained is critical.

Effective training will start with plain-language sessions. They could explain how phishing works and what a typical phishing attempt might look like. Real examples should be pulled from quarantine.

Also, there should be some demonstration of the financial and operational fallout of a successful attack.

Short, frequent sessions are ideal for refreshing and updating knowledge. Add a five-minute “threat of the month” briefing over a conference call or Zoom meeting, and you’ll be positioned to keep awareness high without draining productivity and morale.

Simulated phishing tests add practical experience by sending safe, realistic emails to staff and tracking who reports or opens them.

Results highlight where extra coaching is needed and turn security into a shared responsibility rather than an IT-only concern.

Anti-Phishing Solutions

An anti-phishing solution that scans inbound and outbound messages can quarantine suspect links, block look-alike domains, and flag business email compromise attempts in real time.

Choose a platform that integrates with existing mail services, applies machine-learning analysis to new threats, and offers clear reporting dashboards for IT and non-technical managers.

The platform should also be able to protect all devices since many employees will work from mobile devices. This may make them more productive but potentially exposes them to risk.

Wrapping Up

Phishing is so common because it’s fast, cheap, and, so far, a reliable method for gaining unauthorised access.

But it’s also one of the easiest to block when individuals, processes, and technology work together.

By knowing what to look for and deploying an anti-phishing platform, UK businesses will be better positioned to protect confidential and sensitive data.

Staying alert is not a one-off project, and organisations that treat phishing seriously more readily preserve customer trust and safeguard long-term growth.