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Explain to a coworker why an email is a scam

  • For Office and admin
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

Your coworker Mei asks in chat whether she should pay this 'urgent' request from the CEO. Reply with exactly 3 numbered red flags, each quoting the email, then one last line starting 'What to do:' that follows your company's reporting steps exactly. Plain text, under 90 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Generic scam advice. The AI explains gift card scams in general instead of pointing at this email. Try: Ask: "3 red flags, each quoting the email."
  • The default reporting advice. The AI says 'forward it to IT', which your handbook says not to do. Try: Say: "Follow the handbook steps exactly: Report suspicious button, don't forward."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 90 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Ask for less than the limit and cap each line: "each line under 15 words, under 65 words total."
  • Letting markdown in. AI adds bold and headings by default, and in a chat reply they show up as stray symbols. Try: Add: "Plain text only, no bold, no headings."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Uses the handbook steps
  • Asks for quotes
  • Ends with what to do
  • Says exactly how many
  • Asks for plain text

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