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Almost every breach I’ve seen at a small practice or office started the same way: a busy staff member clicked something they shouldn’t have. Not because they were careless — because the email looked real.
The good news is you don’t need to be technical to catch most phishing attempts. Share these five checks with your front desk and billing staff.
1. Check the actual sender address
The display name can say anything. Hover over (or tap) the sender’s name and look at the real email
address behind it. “Dr. Smith” coming from billing-update@random-domain.com is a red flag.
2. Be suspicious of urgency
Phishing works by rushing you. “Your account will be suspended,” “payment failed, act now,” “the doctor needs this immediately.” When an email is pushing you to act fast, slow down.
3. Hover before you click
Before clicking any link, hover over it to see where it really goes. If the text says one thing and the address shows another — or it’s a string of random characters — don’t click.
4. Watch for unexpected attachments
Didn’t expect a file? Don’t open it. Invoices, “scanned documents,” and shipping notices are common disguises for malware, especially when they ask you to “enable content.”
5. When in doubt, verify another way
If an email seems to be from a vendor, a doctor, or the office manager asking for money, a password, or patient information — confirm it through a different channel. Call the person. A 30-second phone call beats a breach notification every time.
The strongest protection is a team that pauses before it clicks, backed by email security that filters the worst of it out before it ever reaches an inbox. If you’d like a second set of eyes on how your practice handles this, book a free check.