{"id":6853,"date":"2021-04-15T07:18:34","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T15:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/blog\/?p=6853"},"modified":"2021-04-15T08:16:46","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T16:16:46","slug":"what-is-email-spoofing-an-explanation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/blog\/what-is-email-spoofing-an-explanation\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Email Spoofing? An Explanation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center<\/a> (IC3) received an average of 2,000 cybercrime complaints per day with reported losses topping $4.1 billion in 2020. $216.51 million of these losses were the result of email spoofing. So, what is email spoofing? Let\u2019s learn more about it.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Quote source: FBI IC3’s 2020 Internet Crime Report<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the most common tactics cybercriminals use to trick or manipulate people is email spoofing. Spoofing means presenting something or someone as another legitimate entity to establish authority and gain leverage. The eventual goal of spoofing is often to dupe victims for financial gain. Of course, spoofing can occur through multiple means: emails, phone calls, SMS text messages, domain spoofing, and even app spoofing. But the one we\u2019re going to focus on here today is email spoofing specifically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of spoofing email attacks is increasing every year, causing irreparable damage to victims. The IC3 observed that emails spoofed, which makes emails look like they came from CFO, CEO, lawyers, or vendors, is frequently used to target business enterprises. It\u2019s a tactic that\u2019s commonly used in business email compromise (BEC) scams. Data from the IC3\u2019s 2020 Internet Crime Report shows that BEC scams had a huge impact with 19,369 complaints resulting in $1.8 billion in total adjusted losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering these numbers and how fraudulent emails can affect businesses, it\u2019s crucial that you understand email spoofing and take appropriate steps to prevent this tactic from being successfully used against your organization. Let\u2019s break it all down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Email Spoofing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When someone uses email to fraudulently represent themselves as another legitimate entity, this is an example of email spoofing. In a more technical sense, email spoofing about fabricating false email sender information to trick people into believing fraudulent emails are authentic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a great video that quickly explains email spoofing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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