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Email Spoofing

What Is Email Spoofing?

Email spoofing is a type of cyberattack where someone sends an email that appears to come from a different sender than the actual source.

Attackers forge the “From” address in the email header to make the message appear to be from a trusted person or company. This technique is commonly used in phishing attacks to trick recipients into sharing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links.

When you properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your SendLayer domain, you protect it from spoofing by unauthorized senders.

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How Does Email Spoofing Work?

Email spoofing exploits how email systems handle sender information. The SMTP protocol used to send email lacks built-in sender verification, making it relatively easy for attackers to forge sender addresses.

However, modern email systems counter spoofing by verifying email authentication records. When you set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, you create a verification system that makes spoofing much more difficult.

Receiving servers can verify these records to confirm whether the email was sent from your authorized domain.

How Can I Tell if an Email Is Spoofed?

Recognizing spoofed emails requires attention to detail. Here are the most common warning signs:

  • Check the full email address: The display name might say “John Smith” or “Your Bank,” but the actual email address could be something completely different.
  • Look for domain misspellings: Attackers often use domains that look similar but aren’t exact matches, like “example.co” instead of “example.com” or “[email protected]” instead of the real domain.
  • Examine the email header: The full email header shows authentication results. Look for failed SPF, DKIM, or DMARC checks, which indicate the email may not be legitimate.
  • Watch for urgent or threatening language: Spoofed emails often create false urgency: “Your account will be closed,” “Immediate action required,” or “Wire this payment today.”

Modern email clients like Gmail and Outlook often display warnings for emails that fail authentication checks, giving you an additional layer of protection.

How Can I Prevent My Domain From Being Spoofed?

Protecting your domain from spoofing requires implementing email authentication protocols. Here’s what you need to do:

  • Set up email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC): These three protocols work together to protect your domain. SPF specifies which mail servers can send from your domain, DKIM adds digital signatures to prove authenticity, and DMARC tells servers what to do with emails that fail authentication checks.
  • Use BIMI for brand verification: BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) displays your logo next to authenticated emails in supported email clients.
  • Monitor authentication reports: DMARC generates reports showing attempted spoofing of your domain. Regularly review these reports to identify and respond to threats.
  • Use a trusted email service: Services like SendLayer handle authentication automatically and protect your domain reputation by preventing unauthorized sending.

When properly configured, these protections make it extremely difficult for attackers to spoof your domain successfully. Receiving servers will reject or flag emails that claim to be from your domain but don’t pass authentication checks.

That’s it! Now you know what email spoofing is.

Ready to protect your domain from spoofing? Check out these resources: