This Is How to Tell If an Email Is Spam (A.K.A. Phishing)

We all get hundreds of emails a day -- and sometimes, we'll mindlessly click on a spam link and take it seriously before realizing it's not legitimate.

So, before you fall for hackers’ tricks, former CIA officer Jason Hanson suggests taking a second to perform a little test.

"Since it's tax season," Jason explains, "a lot of people get IRS emails that say, 'Hey, you owe us $1,000.'"

In the case of a suspicious email like that, Jason recommends checking its legitimacy by looking more closely at URLs without actually clicking on them.

If you hover your cursor over the link, the real URL will be revealed, the safety expert says.

If it's different from what the email says it is, it’s fake -- so don't click or engage!

Watch Jason demonstrate the hover trick in the video above.