Sciextor

Spoofing

Spoofing Is a type of cybercrime where the scammer disguises an email address, sender name, phone number, or website URL to convince the victim that they are interacting with a known, trusted source.

The scammer may change one letter, symbol, or number in the communication to make it look authentic.

For example, the scammer may send an email that looks like it comes from [email protected] instead of [email protected].

The scammer may also use social engineering techniques, such as referencing personal or business details, to gain the victim’s trust.

Some statistics on spoofing are

• Spoofing is one of the most common types of phishing attacks, which account for nearly 1.2% of all emails sent
• Phishing attacks, which often use spoofing techniques, are expected to extort over 33 million records by 2023
• Phishing attacks cost businesses an average of $17,700 per minute2. The most spoofed brands in Q1 2022 were Facebook, Microsoft, and Netflix
• The most spoofed domains in Q1 2022 were .com, .net, and .org
• Spoofing is a serious threat that can lead to identity theft, fraud, ransomware, or data breaches

What can you do

• Install malware protection and anti-spam software on your devices. This can help you detect and block malicious emails, websites, and downloads that may contain spoofing attempts
• Only visit websites with a valid security certificate. You can check this by looking for a padlock icon and https:// at the beginning of the URL. This means that the website is encrypted and verified by a trusted authority
• Hover over a URL before clicking it to make sure that its destination is a trusted source. Sometimes, spoofers use visually similar characters or misspellings to trick you into clicking on a fake link. For example, info @am α zon.com is not the same as info @amazon.com
• Verify methods for all remote access. If you receive an email or a phone call from someone claiming to be from your bank, your service provider, or your employer, asking you to provide sensitive information or to click on a link, do not respond. Instead, contact the official source directly using a phone number or an email address that you know is legitimate
• Keep an eye out for unusual network activity. If you notice any signs of slow performance, unauthorized access, or data loss on your network, it could indicate that someone is spoofing your IP address or DNS. Use packet filtering systems, authenticate IP addresses, and leverage a network attack blocker to prevent and detect these types of spoofing attacks