Every day, your inbox receives dozens of messages. Some are from colleagues, some from services you use, and some from criminals who've gotten remarkably good at pretending to be both. Email remains the number one way attackers breach organizations and steal from individuals—not because the technology is broken, but because it was never designed with security in mind.

The good news? You don't need to become a cybersecurity expert to defend yourself. Understanding why email is vulnerable and learning a few verification habits can transform your inbox from an open door into a secure checkpoint. Let's explore how to make that happen.

Email was invented in the 1970s, when the internet was a trusted network of researchers. Authentication wasn't a priority—everyone knew everyone. That trusting foundation still underlies modern email. By default, anyone can send a message claiming to be anyone else. The "From" field? Just text you can type yourself. It's like a postal system that never checks return addresses.

Criminals exploit this in several ways. Phishing emails impersonate banks, employers, or tech companies to steal credentials. Business email compromise scams trick employees into wiring money to fraudulent accounts. Malicious attachments deliver ransomware that encrypts your files. Over 90% of successful cyberattacks begin with a phishing email—not because people are stupid, but because attackers have become incredibly sophisticated.

Your inbox is also vulnerable because it's connected to everything. Password resets, financial notifications, work communications—email is the skeleton key to your digital life. Compromise someone's email, and you can often reset passwords to their bank, social media, and cloud storage. That's why attackers invest so much effort into email attacks. The payoff is enormous.

Takeaway

Treat every unexpected email with healthy suspicion, regardless of who it appears to be from—the "From" field is trivially easy to fake, and email authentication was an afterthought, not a foundation.

The golden rule of email security: never trust, always verify. When an email asks you to click a link, open an attachment, or take urgent action, pause. Legitimate organizations rarely demand immediate action via email. That "urgency" is often manufactured to prevent you from thinking clearly.

Start with the sender's actual address, not just the display name. Hover over the name (or tap and hold on mobile) to reveal the real email address. "Amazon Support" might actually be sending from "amazon-support@random-domain.xyz." Check for subtle misspellings—"paypa1.com" instead of "paypal.com," or "rnicrosoft.com" (that's an 'r' and 'n' made to look like 'm'). These tricks work because we read quickly and our brains autocorrect.

When in doubt, verify through a different channel. Got a suspicious email from your bank? Call the number on your card, not any number in the email. Colleague asking for something unusual? Walk over to their desk or send a fresh message (don't reply to the suspicious one). This out-of-band verification breaks the attacker's control of the conversation. It takes thirty seconds and can save you from disaster.

Takeaway

Before acting on any email requesting action, information, or credentials, verify the sender through a completely separate communication channel—phone, text, or in person—using contact information you already have, not information provided in the email.

Standard email is like a postcard—anyone handling it along the way can read it. Your internet provider, your email provider, the recipient's provider, and potentially others can all see the contents. For routine communication, this is fine. For sensitive information, you need something better.

End-to-end encryption ensures only you and your recipient can read the message. Services like ProtonMail and Tutanota offer this by default between their users. For standard email providers, browser extensions like Mailvelope add encryption capability. The challenge is that both parties need compatible tools—encryption only works when everyone participates.

Sometimes the answer is simply not using email at all. Sending passwords? Use a password manager's secure sharing feature instead. Sharing financial documents? Use your bank's secure messaging portal. Discussing truly sensitive matters? Encrypted messaging apps like Signal provide better security and leave less permanent record. Match your communication channel to the sensitivity of what you're sharing. Email is convenient, but convenience and security often trade off.

Takeaway

Reserve standard email for information you'd be comfortable seeing on a billboard—for anything genuinely sensitive, use end-to-end encrypted email services, secure portals, or encrypted messaging apps that match the sensitivity of your communication.

Your inbox doesn't have to be your weakest point. By understanding why email is vulnerable, building verification habits, and choosing appropriate channels for sensitive communication, you transform a liability into a defended perimeter.

Start small: this week, practice hovering over sender addresses before clicking any links. Make out-of-band verification your default response to unusual requests. These habits cost nothing but attention—and that attention is your best defense.