What is Spoofing and How Can I Protect Myself From It?

What is Spoofing?

Spoofing refers to a type of cybercrime that occurs when a cybercriminal impersonates a known contact or source. We can define spoofing as a wide variety of tactics that depend on the cybercriminal's ability to impersonate someone else.

Some spoofers disguise their communications, such as emails or phone calls, so that they appear to come from a person or organization that the victims trust. Network security spoofing involves deceiving a computer or network using a spoofed IP address, redirecting internet traffic at the DNS level, or falsifying ARP data within a LAN.

Why is Spoofing Bad?

No matter what type of spoofing is used, the fundamentals are always the same: The cybercriminal deceives his victims by pretending to be someone they are not. To understand how spoofing works, think of the wolf in sheep's clothing. The wolf (in this case, our spoofer), disguises itself as a lamb and, thus, is received as a friend by the other sheep.

As soon as the cybercriminal gains the victim's trust, the danger becomes apparent. Email and telephone spoofers manipulate their victims to deliver personal information, which can lead to financial fraud or identity theft. Cybercriminals often use spoofing to trick victims in phishing campaigns.

Other types of spoofing tend to target networks rather than individuals, with the goal of spreading malware, stealing data, bypassing security systems, or laying the groundwork for subsequent attacks.

Since spoofing can be used very widely, it can be difficult to identify each attack. That is why it is very important to equip yourself with strong and reliable internet security.

What is the Difference Between Spoofing and Phishing?

Phishing scams involve “luring” victims with bait (like fake emails) and getting them to provide sensitive personal data that can be used for identity theft.

As we mentioned, there are several types of spoofing. Spoofing at the DNS or IP address level is completely different from phishing, as it involves technical means to trick a computer or a network. Email spoofing and phishing are very similar and are often used together.

Remember that spoofing attacks create the appearance that the cybercriminal's communications come from a trusted source. Since the goal of phishing is to trick victims into revealing sensitive personal information, many phishers use spoofing to help deceive their victims into believing that the email is legitimate.

Some phishers send their fraudulent emails in bulk to as many targets as possible, without bothering to pretend they are from a trusted source. As a result, many of these emails end up in the place they should have been: in the spam folder.

Many smarter cybercriminals use spoofing to make their phishing emails much more convincing and increase their chances of success. Let's see how that happens.

What is Email Spoofing?

E-mail spoofing is when the cybercriminal creates and sends e-mails from a forged e-mail address, which his victims will recognize as used by a bank. In incorporate situations, cybercriminals may pose as executives or business partners and request internal information from employees. In early 2019, Mumbai-based paint company Asian Paints was the victim of a massive email spoofing attack in which cybercriminals pretended to be one of the company's suppliers.

Email spoofing is a common hacking practice due to the design of the email. It is an open and relatively little protected system that allows people from all over the world to send messages to each other. Unfortunately, this openness also creates the opportunity for abuse by many criminals, such as spoofers. There are even e-mail spoofing sites that allow cybercriminals to quickly spoof e-mails online.

The good news is that spoofing can be blocked if you know what to look for. Below, we’ll describe several telltale signs that can help detect an email spoofing attack :

Email Spoofing Warning Signs

Generic e-mail domain: E-mails from financial institutions and other companies will be sent from your official domain. If you receive an email that looks real but comes from a free email provider address, like bankname@yahoo.com, you may be dealing with a spoofer.

Generic greeting: Many companies will call you by name. Be skeptical about emails that start with “Dear customer” or treat you by email username.

Requesting personal information: Companies and employees already have all the information they need. They should not send emails to request their user credentials or credit card information.

Strange attachments: Some spoofers will try to attach malicious content to pass through their spam filters. Be especially careful with .HTML or .EXE attachments, as they can install malware on your device. Always avoid unknown attachments and links when you receive a suspicious email.

Errors and inconsistencies: Does the sender's name correspond to the email address used? Is there spelling or grammatical errors in the content of the email? Is your name spelled correctly? Legitimate companies do not make trivial typos in emails sent to customers.

Forced urgency: Spoofers want you to make quick decisions before you have time to think, so they put you under pressure. Your account will be terminated! You will receive a fine one! The government will sue you! The more panic the cybercriminal is able to induce, the greater the risk of the victim falling into the scam.

Typos in URLs: Many spoofers try to trick their victims into visiting fake versions of entire websites. They will try to make this site look like the real thing and use "smart" typing tricks, like replacing the lowercase L with the uppercase I, or using a different domain extension.

How to Protect Yourself From Spoofing

Spoofing attacks can be very different and we understand that you may feel confused. Learn how to avoid spoofing with these tips:

Watch out: Be careful with the most common types of spoofing. Watch for signs of a spoofing attack and you will greatly reduce the chances of being scammed.

Call to confirm: If you are asked to submit personal information, such as a password or credit card number, call the person who sent the request to confirm. Use the contact number listed on the real website. Enter the URL manually in the browser, check the site for signs of spoofing, and do not click on any links in the suspicious email you received.

Be careful with strange attachments: Never open attachments that you were not expecting to receive, especially if they have strange file extensions.

Change your password regularly: If a spoofer manages to obtain your login credentials, he cannot do much harm if you have already created a new password. Create strong passwords that are difficult for others to guess and use a password manager to securely store them.

Check before clicking: Hover your mouse over the links before clicking them to know where you are going. If you decide to click, confirm the URL after the page loads to see if it has not been redirected.

Report spoofing attempts: If you receive an e-mail or other counterfeit communication, inform the alleged sender of the incident. This can help prevent further spoofing attacks. Many companies have a page on their website where you can report spoofing and other security issues.

Use Proven Antivirus Software for Your Protection

You don't have to do it all yourself. The Protegent360 Free Antivirus contains several advanced features that work together to detect threats in real-time. With our Internet Module and E-mail Module at your side, you'll be protected from e-mails and phishing sites that spoofers love to create. Stay safe on the internet with the free antivirus solution that millions of people around the world trust.