How To Use the Phish Alert Button (PAB) in Gmail
Using the PAB in Gmail for Google Chrome
Your organization may have recently installed the Phish Alert Button (PAB) in your Google Chrome browser. Learn how this tool works and how you can use it to help keep your organization safe from malicious phishing emails.
Click the PAB if you believe you have received a phishing email or any potentially dangerous email. Any emails you report using the PAB will be automatically deleted from your inbox. The emails you report will also be forwarded to a designated contact in your organization for analysis.
The PAB should only be used to report emails you believe to have malicious intent. If you are receiving spam or marketing emails, you should not use the PAB to report these emails. You can delete these types of emails or add the sender or sender's email domain to a block list.
Note: The steps for blocking an email sender vary based on your email client. Contact your supervisor or IT team with any questions
How Do I Use the PAB?
Once the PAB add-in is installed, you will be prompted with a message to allow the KnowBe4 PAB application during your next Google Chrome restart. Click the Allow button on this message.
After allowing the PAB application, you will see the PAB as an orange fish hook icon in Gmail. You can use the fish hook icon to report any email as a phishing email, but you cannot use the PAB to report multiple emails at once. Each potential phishing email should be reported individually. However, if an email has multiple emails associated with it, all of the associated emails will be reported when you report the first email.
Note: In order to report potential phishing emails using the Google Chrome PAB extension, you must be logged in to Google Chrome and your Gmail account.
There are three different ways to report an email as a phishing email:
1. Click the fish hook icon at the top of an email.
2. Select the check box next to an email in the inbox. Then, click the fish hook icon in the inbox toolbar.
3. Click the vertical ellipsis icon in the upper right corner of an email. From the drop-down menu that opens, click Phish Alert.
Note: The Report phishing option reports the email to Google but does not forward it to the email address designated by your organization.
Note: By using any one of the three options, the email you report will be forwarded to an email address designated by your organization and then deleted from your inbox. If you report an email in error, then you can retrieve the email from your Trash folder or your Deleted Items folder.
Why Should I Use the PAB?
By reporting emails, you help your organization stay safe. Reported emails are sent to your organization for analysis, so your organization will know which phishing attacks are reaching employees' inboxes. Once your organization is aware of possible vulnerabilities, it can better defend against them. You are an important part of the process of keeping your organization safe. Stop, look, and think!