How Easy is it to Spoof Email?
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Reading Time: 5 min
Spoof email is the art of impersonating someone else’s email address to trick recipients into thinking the message came from a trusted source. It’s a deceptive technique often used by scammers and cybercriminals to spread malware, steal sensitive information or launch phishing attacks.
In a world where emails have become an essential communication tool, it’s important to understand how easy it is to spoof emails and the potential risks that come with them.
With 3.1 billion domain spoofing emails delivered daily, spoofing continues to be one of the most widespread kinds of cybercrime. ~Source
Spoofing an email is simpler than you may think, and all it takes is a few technical skills and access to basic software.
This article will explore How Easy is it to Spoof Email, the methods used to do it, and how to protect yourself from falling victim to such attacks.
So buckle up, and let’s dive into the world of email spoofing.
Key Takeaways
- Spoofing is a method used by cybercriminals to impersonate trusted sources, primarily through email.
- Millions of domain spoofing emails are delivered daily, highlighting the prevalence of this cybercrime.
- Hackers employ various techniques like display name spoofing, lookalike domains, and social engineering to execute email spoofing attacks.
- Utilizing authentication protocols such as DMARC can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to email spoofing.
- Educating users about recognizing and preventing spoofing attempts is essential in protecting sensitive information.
Define Spoof: What’s That?
Let us define spoof!
Spoofing makes an untrusted message appear to have originated from an authorized sender. Spoofing can technically refer to a computer faking an IP address, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), or Domain Name System (DNS) server. Still, it can also refer to more common forms of communication, including emails, phone calls, and web pages.
By manipulating a target’s IP address, a spoofer can obtain access to sensitive information, transmit malware via infected links or attachments, avoid detection by network access controls, or redistribute traffic for a DoS attack.
Spoofing is frequently used to carry out a more extensive cyber attack, such as an advanced persistent threat or a man-in-the-middle attack.
Suppose an assault against a company is successful. In that case, it may infect its computer systems and networks, steal sensitive information, or cause it to lose money, which could damage its reputation.
Moreover, spoofing that results in the rerouting of internet traffic can overburden networks or send customers/clients to malicious sites targeted at stealing information or spreading malware.
Protect Against Spoofed Emails with PowerDMARC!
How Hackers Spoof Email Accounts
Hackers use spoofing to disguise their identity to access your email account. Spoofing can be done in many different ways, but here are the most common methods:
Open SMTP Relays
If you send emails from your home computer or network, your system likely has an open SMTP relay. This means anyone can connect to your server and send emails as if they were you.
Display Name Spoofing
Display name spoofing is relatively easy to spot. Hackers will change the display name on an email account to something they want, such as “[email protected].” The problem is that it’s easy to tell if the display name has been changed — all you have to do is hover your mouse over the sender’s name.
If it says “security” rather than “John Smith,” you know it’s spoofed.
Legitimate Domains Spoofing
In this case, hackers set up a fake website similar to a legitimate one (such as @gmail.com instead of @googlemail.com). They send out emails asking people for their login details or other personal information, which they then use themselves or sell on the black market (the former is known as phishing).
Uncode Spoofing
Unicode spoofing is a form of domain name spoofing in which a Unicode character that looks similar to an ASCII character is used instead of an ASCII character in the domain name.
To fully grasp this method, you must be familiar with the encoding schemes used in domains where non-Latin characters (such as Cyrillic or umlauts) are used.
Punycode, a method for converting Unicode characters to an ASCII Compatible Encoding (ACE) representation of the Latin alphabet, hyphens, and numerals 0 through 9, was developed so that they may be used. Also, the Unicode domain is shown by many browsers and email clients.
Spoofing via Lookalike Domains
A lookalike domain is an exact copy of an existing domain name registered by an attacker who intends to send spam or phishing attacks using this domain name as if your company owned it.
Because they are so similar to your domain name, users can only tell the difference between their domains if they carefully read everything in the email header because they are so similar to your domain name.
Social Engineering Techniques
Social engineering is a form of hacking that involves tricking people into giving away sensitive information.
Hackers often pose as someone else (a friend, family member, or co-worker) to get information like passwords or credit card numbers out of unsuspecting victims through phone calls or emails.
Don’t Let Hackers Spoof Your Domain – Use DMARC
Email spoofing can lead to various cyber threats, such as phishing, malware distribution, and other cyber attacks that can result in data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage. Hackers use various techniques to spoof email accounts and make it appear that the email was sent from a legitimate source.
The Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) protocol prevents email spoofing. DMARC is an email authentication protocol that enables domain owners to specify which mail servers are authorized to send an email on behalf of their domains.
This authentication protocol is designed to prevent hackers from sending emails that appear to be from a legitimate domain.
DMARC allows email receivers to verify that incoming messages are authentic by checking the SPF and DKIM records and then enforces domain-based policies for emails that fail authentication checks.
This ensures that emails that fail authentication are blocked or flagged as suspicious, protecting your domain and recipients from spoofed emails.
Final Words
Email spoofing, in a nutshell, is the practice of sending forged messages with all the hallmarks of genuine correspondence. As easy as it is to spoof email, unfortunately, most users need to be savvier to implement a few easy-to-use services to ensure their email comes from a trusted source.
The technical complexities of spoofing have made it difficult to understand the simple solutions available for years. Encouraging users to use services such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC may help, but there will likely be a partial solution soon.
Domain & Email Security Expert at PowerDMARC
Ahona is the Marketing Manager at PowerDMARC, with 5+ years of experience in writing about cybersecurity topics, specializing in domain and email security. Ahona holds a post-graduation degree in Journalism and Communications, solidifying her career in the security sector since 2019.
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