← Human Risk Under Pressure: Decisions That Protect You and Your Team
The Psychology of Trust and Pressure
How Attackers Exploit Your Brain's Shortcuts The Urgency Trap — When Speed Overrides Judgment Authority, Familiarity, and the Power of Context
Real-World Attack Scenarios
Email and Messaging Attacks — Spot the Fake Voice and SMS Attacks — The Human Side of Social Engineering Multi-Stage Attacks — When Trust Is Built Over Time
Decisions and Actions That Protect
Pause, Verify, Decide — Your Personal Process What to Do When You're Not Sure Reporting Without Fear — How Early Reporting Changes Outcomes
Decisions and Actions That Protect

What to Do When You're Not Sure

A practical guide for handling uncertainty — how to ask for help and make safe decisions when you're unsure.

About this learning content: Courses, lessons, assessments, explanations and illustrations may be created with the help of artificial intelligence. We review and check the material and do our best to avoid incorrect or outdated information, but mistakes, omissions or ambiguous questions may remain. Please verify information before relying on it for professional, security, legal or operational decisions. Read the full notice or report an issue.

In this lesson, you will learn to:

  • Identify when you're uncertain about a message or request, and describe at least two ways to get help or verify before acting.

What to Do When You’re Not Sure

This lesson addresses the most common situation: you’re not sure if something is legitimate. You’ll learn how to ask for help effectively, what information to share, and how to make safe decisions even when you’re uncertain.

How to Handle Uncertainty

Uncertainty is normal. You can’t always tell if something is legitimate just by looking at it. That’s why having a process for uncertainty is so important.

When you’re not sure, do this:

  1. Don’t act. The safest action is no action until you know more.
  2. Ask someone you trust. A colleague, friend, or family member can often spot things you’ve missed.
  3. Verify through a known channel. If it’s a work request, talk to your manager or IT. If it’s personal, call the organization directly using a known number.
  4. Report it if you’re still unsure. Reporting early is always better than acting on uncertainty.

Remember: You don’t have to be right. You just have to be careful. Acting on uncertainty is the risk. Asking for help is the solution.

When You're Not SureA decision tree: Not Sure, Pause and don't act, Ask someone you trust, Verify using known channel, Still unsure? Report it.What to Do When You're Not SureNot SurePause and don't actAsk someone you trustVerify through known channelStill unsure? Report itBetter to report than to act on uncertainty
When You're Not Sure — A decision tree showing the path from uncertainty to safety: pause, ask someone, verify, report if needed.
Uncertainty Is NormalA person with a question mark over their head, with an arrow pointing to Ask for Help with a positive message.Uncertainty Is Normal?Not sure?That's normal!Ask for helpIt's the smart moveWhen in doubt, ask. When unsure, verify.You're protecting yourself and others
Uncertainty Is Normal — A visual reminder that uncertainty is normal and asking for help is the smart response, not a weakness.
← Previous: Pause, Verify, Decide — Your Personal Process Next: Reporting Without Fear — How Early Reporting Changes Outcomes →