If I wanted to hack your business, I’d start with phishing your employees. The odds would be in my favor because it is one of the easiest and most effective ways to attack someone’s business. And I only need to be right once. Meanwhile, you and your team can’t afford a single mistake.

If you’re worried about ransomware, business email compromises or data breaches, it’s important to know that many attacks may start with a phishing email. You’re likely familiar with the term “phishing,” and probably have seen plenty of training on email red flags to “think before you click,” and understand the risk of opening random files on suspicious emails.

Typically, a phishing email will ask you to click a link, respond with sensitive information or open a file. They may even ask you to send money, gift cards or pay an invoice. In some cases, the link you interact with may lead to a credential harvesting site that looks like a trusted login page—solely designed to pass your username and password along to the attacker.

However it plays out, interacting with a phishing email could result in someone accessing your accounts, capturing sensitive information, installing malware or ransomware, and laying the groundwork for secondary attacks such as an email compromise.

Most companies use filters, administrative settings and training to equip employees with the right defenses. However, attack techniques are always changing and users need to remain vigilant.

Here are six principles that phishing attacks rely on to fool businesses into becoming victims of a phishing attack:

1) Impersonation. Attackers disguise emails to look like they’re from trusted sources by slightly altering domains, such as by changing “amazon.com” to “arnazon.com,” or using lookalike characters. Without email security settings like sender policy framework (SPF), DomainKeys identified mail (DKIM) and domain-based message authentication reporting and conformance (DMARC), these spoofed messages can appear legitimate.

2) Urgency. Messages often pressure recipients to act fast, threatening consequences like account lockouts or financial loss. Verizon’s “2024 Data Breach Investigations Report” shows that tricked users clicked a malicious link within 21 seconds and entered data in just 28 seconds—falling victim in under a minute.

3) Confusion. Vague or oddly timed emails aim to catch recipients when they’re distracted or unfamiliar with protocols. New employees are especially vulnerable, and phishing links may lead to credential harvesting sites that mimic familiar login pages.

4) Curiosity. Attackers bait users with tempting subjects, like a spreadsheet labeled “Executive Payroll,” to trigger clicks and open malicious content.

5) False trust. Some attackers use leaked personal data—like passwords—or hijack ongoing email threads, making their requests seem trustworthy. If a third-party vendor’s email is compromised, an attacker can send fake invoices or payment requests that appear genuine.

6) Deception. Phishing campaigns often combine these techniques. With access to inside information from compromised accounts, attackers can time their emails perfectly, making them almost indistinguishable from real communications. Victims may not realize the fraud until much later.

Phishing remains one of the most dangerous threats to any organization because it exploits the one variable that’s hardest to control: human behavior. Attackers don’t need advanced tools or complex exploits—just one distracted or trusting click by an employee.

Empower your team to pause, question and verify. When it comes to phishing, being cautious isn’t just a best practice, it’s your first line of defense.

Ryan Smith is president and principal consultant of RLS Consulting. Go to securemyagency.com for cost-effective and easy ways to make your agency cyber secure.