Cybersecurity · Beginner level

Beginner level · Module 2 of 5 · 11 guided hours

Phishing and Social Engineering Awareness

Recognise and report phishing messages, fake calls and other tricks that target people rather than technology.

Learning objectives

  • Identify phishing red flags in email, SMS and chat messages
  • Recognise social engineering techniques
  • Report and respond to suspected phishing

Topics

  • phishing email
  • SMS and WhatsApp scams
  • fake login pages
  • pretexting and urgency
  • mobile money scams
  • reporting

Lessons

  1. Lesson 1 Spotting Phishing Red Flags

    Check messages for the signs that they are not what they claim to be.

    sender addressurgency and threatslink checkingattachments

  2. Lesson 2 Social Engineering Tactics

    Recognise manipulation by phone, chat and in person.

    pretextingauthority and urgencySIM swap and mobile money fraudcall-back verification

  3. Lesson 3 Reporting and Responding to Phishing

    Know what to do if you receive — or fall for — a phishing message.

    reportingdo not replychanging passwordswarning others

Practical activity

Analyse a set of sample messages, decide which are phishing, annotate the red flags and practise the correct response.

Expected outcomes

  • Confident recognition of phishing
  • A habit of checking and reporting

Assessment

Phishing identification exercise scored on accuracy and the quality of explanations.

Free taster lesson Phishing & Social Engineering Awareness Read a free self-study lesson on this topic in the Free Course Library.

Taught live by an instructor — online or in person. Free course lessons are for self-study and do not lead to a certificate — see registration options.