Hidden in Plain Sight: 10 Subtle Clues That Text or Email Is a Phishing Scam (Unabridged‪)‬

Digital Messages, Real Dangers: Why You Need to Pay Attention

Every day, we send and receive countless messages—emails from work, reminders from banks, shipping updates from online stores, and texts from friends. Communicating through screens has become so common that most of us don’t even think twice before opening a message, clicking a link, or responding to a notification.

But in that sea of normal communication lies something much more dangerous: messages designed to trick you, to make you give away your passwords, financial details, or other private information. These scams often come hidden in the very tools we trust most—email and text.

They’re called phishing (when it’s email) and smishing (when it’s a text message). And their goal is simple: to "fish" for your information using bait that looks as real and harmless as possible.

What Makes Phishing So Dangerous?

You might be thinking, "I’m smart—I’d never fall for one of those scammy messages full of typos or fake-looking links."

That’s a good start. But here’s the thing: phishing scams have evolved.

Many of today’s phishing attempts are sophisticated, well-written, and extremely convincing. Scammers are no longer just blasting out poorly written spam emails. They’re crafting realistic messages that look like they came from your bank, your boss, or your favorite online store.