Phishing exposed: How to trace, verify, and break down suspicious emails

This hands-on workshop focuses on practical email forensics skills to help participants investigate suspicious email messages. Email remains one of the most common entry points for cyber attacks, including phishing, spoofing, and social engineering. However, many users and even technical learners lack the confidence to properly analyse and validate suspicious emails.

In this workshop, participants will learn how to break down an email beyond what is visible in the inbox. The session will guide them through analysing email headers, identifying spoofing attempts, tracing the origin of a message, and verifying the legitimacy of the sender. Rather than focusing only on theory, this workshop emphasises practical, step-by-step investigation techniques that can be applied in real-world scenarios.

Participants will work through guided examples of suspicious emails and learn how attackers manipulate email fields to appear legitimate. They will explore key elements such as "Received" headers, sender addresses, reply-to mismatches, and authentication checks. By the end of the session, attendees will be able to confidently assess whether an email is genuine or malicious.

This workshop is designed for beginners to intermediate learners, including students, educators, and professionals who want to build foundational cyber investigation skills. No advanced technical background is required, making it accessible while still valuable for those looking to strengthen their practical security knowledge.

The session aligns strongly with workforce needs by developing critical thinking and investigative skills that are essential in cyber security roles such as SOC analysts and incident responders. It also supports broader cyber awareness by empowering participants to make safer decisions in their everyday digital interactions.

By combining real-world examples with hands-on practice, this workshop aims to bridge the gap between theory and application, giving participants the confidence and skills to investigate suspicious emails effectively.