Abstract: One variation of a method includes: intercepting an inbound email received from a sender at an inbound email address and addressed to a recipient within an organization; accessing a keyword list comprising a set of keywords associated with inauthentic email attempts; and, in response to identifying a first word, in a set of words contained in the inbound email, in the set of keywords, scanning the first inbound email for presence of external content linked to the first inbound email. In response to detecting a link to an external document within the first inbound email, the method further includes: accessing a whitelist comprising a set of verified email addresses associated with authentic email attempts within the organization; and, in response to the set of verified email addresses omitting the inbound email address, withholding transmission of the inbound email to the target recipient and flagging the inbound email for authentication.