You trust your team, right?
They’re sharp, capable, and they know to steer clear of sketchy links or surprise attachments. Most folks these days have heard about phishing emails and how convincing they can look. After all, the whole point of a phishing scam is to fool even the savviest employee into clicking, sharing sensitive info, or downloading something they shouldn’t.
So, your team is too smart to fall for it. Or so they think.
Here’s the real challenge: just because someone’s confident they can spot a phishing attempt doesn’t mean they actually can. That sense of “I’ve got this” can be a trap—and it’s exactly what cyber criminals are counting on.
Recent research backs this up. A whopping 86% of employees say they’re sure they can spot a phishing email, but more than half have still fallen for a scam at some point.
Pause and let that sink in.
These are people who’ve heard the warnings, know the basics, and still got caught. Why? Because cyber criminals have gotten creative. Gone are the days of obvious “foreign prince” requests. Now you see:
Phishing scams have gotten more sophisticated, and that makes them harder to spot. If someone thinks they’re too smart to be tricked, that’s often when they’re the most vulnerable.
This is a classic case of overconfidence. When people believe they’re immune to scams, they let their guard down. Instead of double-checking links or pausing before opening an unexpected email, they just assume “I’d never fall for that.” That’s how cyber criminals slip through and get access to your business’s systems and data.
So, what can you do?
The best defense starts with a shift in mindset. Don’t just assume your people know what to look for—make sure they’re up to speed. Regular phishing awareness training can make a real difference, helping your team recognize the latest, trickiest scams before it’s too late.
But it’s not just about training. Employees need to feel comfortable reporting anything suspicious, no matter how small it seems. If people are worried about being blamed or laughed at, they’ll keep quiet. That gives scammers an open door. Building a workplace culture where security concerns are welcomed (and acted on) is just as important as education.
At the end of the day, cyber security isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about being careful, staying alert, and working together. Even the most tech-savvy employee can get caught off guard by a clever scam. The key is to treat every unexpected message with a healthy dose of caution, and to never rely on confidence alone.
Because the moment someone thinks, “That would never happen to me,” is often the moment it does.
