Living abroad often means dealing with unfamiliar organisations, online accounts and important documents, making it easier for cybercriminals to exploit trust. This guide explains how phishing attacks work, how to investigate suspicious emails safely, practical steps to protect your devices and accounts, and what to do if you think you've been compromised.
Cyber attacks are getting more and more sophisticated as bad agents combine old techniques which used sometimes with AI technology which makes the attack all the more sophisticated.
When you're relocating or living abroad, managing finances across multiple countries or simply living an international lifestyle, you're likely to receive emails from organisations you've never dealt with before.
Immigration authorities, overseas banks, tax offices, healthcare providers, shipping companies, schools, utility providers, foreign employers and legal advisers all need to communicate with you. Many will do so in unfamiliar languages or from domains you don't immediately recognise which creates an opportunity for cybercriminals.
Modern phishing attacks are no longer poorly written emails full of spelling mistakes. They often imitate trusted brands, use genuine websites that have been compromised, and can be convincing enough to fool even experienced users.
Most attacks can be prevented, but if you do become a victim, knowing what to do in the first few minutes can significantly reduce the damage, or neutralise it altogether.
This article looks at ways that you can identify a genuine threat and how you can avoid making a bad situation worse.
It's easy to think that phishing attacks are about installing viruses or taking control of your computer. While that does happen, most modern attacks have much simpler objectives.
In many cases, the attacker isn't interested in your device at all, they're interested in what your digital identity gives them access to, which is usually money.
The most common objective is to trick you into entering your username, password or multi-factor authentication (MFA) code into a fake website because once they have your credentials, they may be able to access any systems that you use that also use that email/password combination.
For many attackers, getting access to your email account is the ultimate prize because it often acts as the recovery account for everything else.
Some attacks are designed to persuade you to transfer money, normally under the guise of something urgent and with a threat of further action.
These might include:
Once an attacker controls your email account, they may send messages that appear to come directly from you. The risk then becomes shared with your contacts because friends, family, colleagues and clients trust your email address, they're far more likely to open attachments, click links or transfer money.
Sometimes the goal is to collect information rather than money. Passport details, identity documents, tax references, utility bills and proof of address can all be valuable for identity fraud or sold to other criminals.
For people living abroad, these documents are often stored digitally and shared regularly during visa applications, property purchases and financial transactions.
The most important factor to remember is that avoiding potential attacks is infinitely better than becoming a victim.
Most attacks that people experience will happen when you:
Therefore, the single best defence is reducing the opportunities for attackers in the first place.
People who live abroad will regularly connect to free, public networks without connecting through a VPN. The main reason is to avoid expensive roaming charges, and therefore the most common locations are:
Public Wi-Fi is convenient but should be treated with caution, therefore if you must use it:
Modern phishing emails can be almost indistinguishable from the real thing. They use company logos, professional language and, increasingly, artificial intelligence to produce polished content. Some even come from genuine email accounts that have been compromised. This means that instead of blindly opening something that looks genuine, you should always think: "How can I independently confirm this request?"
Ways that you could make such a confirmation could include:
The email itself should simply tell you that something requires your attention. It should never be the reason you trust the request.
Living internationally means you may receive communications from organisations you have never previously dealt with and in languages you aren’t familiar with which makes the recipient vulnerable. After all, if something is unfamiliar, how are you supposed to identify what’s real and what’s fake?
The usual instinct of "that doesn't look right" becomes less reliable when almost everything you're receiving is new.
If you’re in the process of relocating, and you are expecting important documents or updates relating to your move, it's much easier to assume an email is legitimate and act quickly without stopping to verify it.
When you received an email, don’t simply assume you have to either trust the message or ignore it.
If you're unsure whether a communication is genuine, you can investigate it safely without clicking links, opening attachments or exposing your personal information.
Most phishing attacks rely on creating a sense of urgency. You may be told that your account will be suspended, a parcel cannot be delivered, a visa application requires immediate action or an important document is waiting for your review.
Before doing anything, pause for a moment. Legitimate organisations rarely expect you to act within seconds and taking a few minutes to verify a communication is far less disruptive than dealing with a compromised account.
If an email claims to be from your bank, never click the button or links in the message but instead, open your banking app or type the bank's web address into your browser yourself.
The same applies to tax authorities, immigration portals, healthcare providers and courier companies. If the communication is genuine, you'll usually find the same notification waiting for you when you log in through the official website or app.
Modern AI tools can be surprisingly effective at identifying the warning signs of phishing emails and scam text messages.
Rather than asking whether something is "safe", ask questions such as:
An AI assistant can often spot inconsistencies, explain why something looks suspicious and help you decide what to verify next. However, remember that AI should support your judgement rather than replace it. If something involves money, passwords or sensitive information, always verify it independently.
If you've received a suspicious attachment, avoid opening it on your computer or phone. Instead, consider using services such as VirusTotal, which scans files using dozens of different security engines and often identifies known malware or phishing documents. If you're investigating a suspicious website or link, URLScan.io allows the page to be analysed remotely without you visiting it yourself. It’s easier to do this via a computer than your phone as you can drag a file without downloading it.
These services are widely used by cybersecurity professionals and provide a much safer way of understanding what a file or website is likely to do.
A sandbox is an isolated environment designed to let you open suspicious files without exposing your main computer.
Think of it as a disposable room where anything that happens inside the sandbox stays there, and once you've finished investigating, the entire environment can simply be discarded.
Windows users with the appropriate edition of Windows can use Windows Sandbox, while virtual machines provide a similar level of isolation. Although these tools require a little more technical knowledge, they are significantly safer than opening unknown attachments directly on your main device.
Many phishing emails disguise the real destination of a button or hyperlink, so before clicking, hover your mouse over the link. Most browsers and email clients will display the actual destination. If the email claims to be from Adobe but the link points to an unrelated website, that's a strong indication that something isn't right.
Bear in mind that even if the domain looks genuine, it could have been compromised, so this should only be one part of your assessment.
If the communication appears to come from someone you know, contact them using a method you already trust.
For example, if your accountant emails asking you to review an urgent document, call them using the number already saved in your phone or reply to an existing email conversation rather than the new message. If they didn't send it, you'll know immediately.
At the end of the day, you don't need to decide whether an email is genuine, you only need to determine whether you trust it enough to act.
If you're unsure, don't let the email or your emotional reaction dictate your next step. Navigate to the organisation yourself, ask someone you trust, or use specialist tools to investigate safely. A few minutes spent verifying a communication can prevent days or even weeks of disruption recovering from a successful phishing attack.
Even the most sceptical and aware people can be compromised, so it’s important to always be prepared and know what to do without rushing or panicking.
Immediately:
If you’re unsure how to do any of these, an AI tool will often provide you with a step-by-step instruction. Using AI will also help reduce the sense of urgency as it will be able to help you determine how serious something it.
The next step is to determine the extent of the problem.
Check:
If suspicious emails or messages have been sent from your account, notify the recipients immediately using another trusted method of communication if possible.
Ask them to delete the message without opening any attachments or clicking any links, and to let you know if they have already interacted with it. Acting quickly can prevent the attack from spreading to colleagues, clients, friends or family who naturally trust communications coming from you.
Contact your email provider if your account has been restricted or compromised. Your service provider may block or limit future actions, but they will also be able to assess potential risk or harm.
Living internationally inevitably means sharing documents, managing accounts across multiple countries and communicating with organisations you've never dealt with before. While this creates opportunities for cybercriminals, following a few sensible habits can dramatically reduce your risk.
Very few people become experts in cybersecurity, but for everybody the goal should be to develop routines that help you pause, verify and act safely. In most cases, taking a few extra minutes before clicking a link or opening an attachment is all it takes to prevent a minor inconvenience becoming a major problem.
