Email Security Habits for the New Year
One simple habit that stops 95% of email breaches. The 5-second freeze rule for a safer 2025.
January 2nd. A marketing director clicked "Update Payment Info" on what looked like a Slack notification.
By January 3rd, her company's entire client database was in someone else's hands.
New year, same scammers. They're counting on your inbox being flooded with subscription renewals, password resets, and "verify your account" emails.
The chaos is their cover.
Here's the thing: 95% of breaches start with a single email. One click. One moment of autopilot.
This year, adopt one habit that changes everything.
The 5-second freeze rule
Before clicking any link in an email, pause for 5 seconds and ask three questions:
- Did I expect this email?
- Does the sender address match the company exactly?
- What happens if I wait an hour to respond?
That's it. Five seconds. Three questions.
Urgency is manufactured. Real deadlines rarely arrive by surprise at 6pm on a Friday.
The scammers are betting you won't pause. That you'll react before you think.
Prove them wrong.
Your New Year action
Open your inbox right now. Find one subscription email. Hover over the sender address. Does it actually match the company? If not, delete it.
Do this once a day for a week. You'll be shocked what you find.
2025 doesn't need to be the year you got hacked.
It can be the year you stopped clicking.