What should you do if you receive an email with a header suggesting it's from the HR Department, but the email address doesn't end with your organization's domain?

When you receive an email that appears to be from a legitimate department, such as HR, but the email address does not match your organization's domain, it raises a significant red flag. The correct course of action is to report it as phishing. Phishing emails are designed to deceive recipients into providing sensitive information or downloading malicious software, often disguised as communications from trusted sources.

By reporting the email, you help protect not only yourself but also your colleagues and the organization as a whole from potential security threats. This action facilitates investigation and awareness, allowing the IT or security team to implement necessary precautions or alerts regarding the phishing attempt.

While asking HR may seem like a reasonable approach, it does not address the immediate risk associated with the suspicious email and could lead to inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information. Simply ignoring and deleting the email does not mitigate the risk, as others may still be targeted. Trusting the email as genuine contradicts the fundamental principle of practicing caution and verifying the legitimacy of unexpected communications.