Made famous by one of today’s most successful leaders, Jeff Bezos, the Regret Minimization Framework is hot and trending. Celebrities are talking about it, sharing it on social media, and pushing others to adopt the mindset in order to stay motivated and achieve their goals. What many don’t realize, is that the framework plays a big role in combating phishing attacks and keeping yourself, your data, your money, and personal life secure.

What’s the Regret Minimization Framework?

People are forced to make decisions on a daily basis. Whether it’s about their personal lives, their job, the place they live or anything else, the end goal is always to limit uncertainty and make the best decision possible.

Jeff Bezos lives his life according to the framework, and encourages others to do so as well. It is, in a sense, a mindset. It doesn’t involve a single written business plan, financial documents, or spreadsheets. As Bezos describes how he came to the framework, he relates, “I wanted to project myself forward to age 80 and say, ‘Okay, now I’m looking back on my life. I want to have minimized the number of regrets I have’”. The framework is about analyzing goals and determining possible regrets to help you make a decision.

Connection to Phishing

Ok so where are we going with this? Simple. The Regret Minimization Framework is exactly what we should be practicing to protect ourselves from phishing attacks.

Think of forgetting your phone on the subway and never seeing it again.

Or imagine leaving your laptop, which holds your unsaved end-of-year project, on the coffee shop table — and losing everything. The only thing you feel at that moment you realize it’s gone, is regret. “Why didn’t I remember it?”, “I can’t believe I didn’t save it to my drive”, “How could I have let that happen?”. These are the same exact questions the thousands of people who are affected by phishing attacks ask themselves daily. “Why didn’t I double check the email before sending the money?”, “How could I have been so naive and not double checked the email address?”, “I thought I would never fall for one of these!”.

A Regret-Free Life

It’s no doubt that phishing is nasty, and it’s unfortunate that it has to happen to innocent people. We can’t change the fact that phishing happens, we can only change our decisions and the way we react – and prepare. Practice the Regret Minimization Framework to protect yourself, your family, and your wallet. You don’t want to be asking yourself “Why didn’t I..?” tomorrow, and regret not taking action to safeguard your email.

Retruster is the exact answer to your anti-phishing needs. Just download the add-on, and immediately have an extra layer of protection on every email. Learn who sent the email, where they’re from, and tons more information to get a more clear view on the risk factors of every email you receive. Use Retruster as part of a regret-free framework for life.