Google quiz designed to help people spot phishing emails

Google has created a quiz designed to teach internet users how to identify phishing emails created to trick users into giving up personal information or downloading viruses to their devices.

Created by Google subsidiary Jigsaw, the eight-question quiz shows users a range of different email scenarios and asks people to identify if the message is real or an attempt at phishing.

The term refers to hackers attempting to get hold of valuable personal information by disguising themselves as trustworthy entities in communications.

“Identifying phishing can be harder than you think. Phishing is an attempt to trick you into giving up your personal information by pretending to be someone you know. Can you tell what’s fake?” the message on the quiz home page says.

The quiz walks users through different methods used to try and trick recipients into clicking malicious links, including URL and email addresses that look similar to those of real services, and encourages users to be “especially cautious” if user’s do not know the sender.

After answering each question, the website shows users a range of tips on how to spot fake or malicious emails.

Phishing scams are one of the most common forms of cyber attack, often sent out in large waves by hackers hopeful of tricking users into clicking a link to a fake website, often where they are prompted to enter personal information such as passwords and financial details, which are then gathered by the hackers.