We got a request for a quote from a company we have never heard of. How do I tell if it is real?

Most phishing tries to alarm you. This one flatters you, because a request for a quote gets a fast, friendly reply from almost every small business, usually from the owner. That is exactly why it works: it recruits your sales reflex instead of fighting your judgment.

Here is what to look for. First, check the domain on every message in the thread. The single strongest signal is an opening message from one company's domain and a reply that comes back from an unrelated one, often something generic built around words like proposals, sourcing, or procurement.

Second, ask what you are actually being asked to price. A real quote request has a location, a quantity, a timeline, or a specific problem. A fake one stays vague enough to fit any business that receives it, using phrases like project scope, service requirements and material specifications. If you could send the same message to a roofer, a print shop, and an IT company without changing a word, that is your answer.

Third, watch how fast it pushes to a scheduled meeting. Real buyers usually have a question first: do you do this, do you cover our area, roughly what does it run. The fake version skips straight to a call, because the call is the pretext for sending you a file or a link.

Fourth, and most important, be careful when the document shows up as a one time or expiring download link, especially one styled to look like SharePoint or OneDrive. A link is not safe because it looks like Microsoft. That page usually wants your email and password.

The habit that handles all of it: verify the entity before you produce anything of value for it. Ask for the legal business name, a physical address, and a website. Look them up independently rather than through any link they sent. Call a number you found yourself. A real buyer answers those questions easily, because a real buyer wants the quote. Ten minutes costs you nothing on a genuine lead and ends the scam on a fake one.