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How to Recognize and Report Phishing Emails That Use Your Personal Data

Real personal details do not prove an email is genuine. Learn how to verify suspicious requests safely, report phishing, and respond if you shared information or opened an attachment.
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An email that knows your name, address, or other real details can still be a scam. Stolen or exposed information can make a phishing message sound convincing; it does not prove the sender is genuine. Don’t click, open attachments, reply, or use an unsubscribe link. Verify the request through a website or phone number you already know is legitimate, then report the message.

Why a phishing email may know your details

Scammers use personal information to make a message feel familiar and credible, then persuade you to click a link, open a file, or disclose more. CISA warned that data exposed in breaches can be used to make phishing messages more convincing. Accurate details are not authentication: they may have come from an earlier breach or another source. CISA’s Equifax breach alert describes this risk.

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A message may invent a plausible reason to act, such as a suspicious transaction, account problem, delivery issue, or identity-verification request. A familiar name, logo, or personal detail does not settle whether it is real.

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How to spot warning signs

Check the whole message and whether the request makes sense in context. CISA lists these common warning signs in its phishing tip sheet:

  • The sender’s email address does not match the organization or person the message claims to represent.
  • A link is shortened or its destination is unclear.
  • The message uses urgency, pressure, or an emotional appeal to make you act quickly.
  • It asks for personal, login, or financial information.
  • It includes an unexpected attachment.
  • It contains writing errors. However, poor writing is less common than it once was, so polished wording is not proof of safety.

None of these clues alone proves a message is fraudulent, and a convincing design does not prove it is genuine. If you are unsure, contact the supposed sender through a phone number or website you already trust—not contact details or links in the message.

What to do if you have not interacted with the email

  1. Stop. Don’t click a link, open an attachment, reply, or select an unsubscribe link in a suspicious message.
  2. Verify independently if needed. Visit the organization’s known-good website or call a number from a trusted source to check whether the request is real.
  3. Report it. Use your email provider’s spam or phishing-reporting control. CISA recommends using the “report spam” feature.
  4. Forward and report in the U.S. Forward the phishing email to [email protected], as the FTC advises. You can also report the attempt at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  5. Delete the message after reporting it.

For suspicious texts in the U.S., use your phone’s report function or forward the message to SPAM (7726). Reporting destinations vary by country; outside the U.S., use your national consumer-protection, cybercrime, or identity-theft reporting service.

What to do if you shared information or opened something

Clicking a link alone does not establish that your device or account was compromised. Respond according to what happened, and use the affected service’s genuine website or phone number—not the message—to reach it.

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If you shared a password

Change it promptly on the genuine service. Change it anywhere else you reused it, and enable stronger authentication if the service offers it.

If you shared Social Security, bank, or card details

Go to IdentityTheft.gov for next steps tailored to the information exposed. Contact the relevant bank or card issuer through a trusted channel as appropriate.

If you clicked a link or opened an attachment

If it may have downloaded harmful software, update your existing security software and run a scan, following the FTC’s guidance. If you entered account credentials on a linked page, treat those credentials as disclosed and change them as described above.

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If the phishing email arrived at work

Report it to your organization’s designated security team or reporting channel. Don’t forward a suspected malicious message to coworkers; the security team can assess it and determine whether others need protection. CISA’s phishing guidance recommends reporting workplace messages to the appropriate team rather than circulating them internally.

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