What is Email Spoofing? Types & Examples

Cybersecurity threats continue to get more advanced, and the potential harm to businesses keeps on rising day by day. Among these rising cyber threats, one that has been increasingly adopted by cybercriminals is spoofing. Spoofing is a technique hackers use to present communication originating from an untrusted source in a way that makes it look like it’s from a trusted one. This may be performed in ways such as through emails, phone calls, and websites. Through this approach, an attacker could successfully convince people and organizations to disclose critical information or take actions that could lead to exploitable security weaknesses.

Email spoofing has become a common practice whereby the attackers impersonate a trusted entity by using made-up sender addresses. Email systems have a few inherent weaknesses that make this tactic a powerful tool in phishing schemes. As a matter of fact, approximately 96 percent of all phishing attacks are made by email, 3 percent through the use of malicious websites, and 1 percent over the telephone. Considering emails that are spoofed pretend to come from trusted sources, it underscores the need for companies to escalate email security measures.

In the guide, we have covered everything from a definition of email spoofing and how it differs from phishing to the risks involved and methods of effective prevention. We will also get into some real-world examples of e-mail spoofing scams, go over relevant statistics, and answer frequently asked questions to enhance your understanding of this important issue.

Understanding Email Spoofing

Email has remained the lifeline for business and personal communication these days. However, this convenience also brings significant risks. We can say that if there is any threat that has become most prevalent, it is email spoofing. Understanding how it works is imperative to construct solid defenses. This section discusses the detailed technical aspects of spoofing and how the attackers trick external emails by manipulating the recipient.

Email Spoofing Definition

Email spoofing is a technique by which attackers forge email headers, making the message appear to come from someone or somewhere other than the actual sender. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that, in 2021 alone, email spoofing and similar scams prompted global losses of more than $2.4 billion.

That figure gives a proper indication of the big dent email spoofing causes in businesses worldwide. Attackers exploit email spoofing vulnerability by breaching multiple layers of security controls to convince recipients to share sensitive information or transfer money.

How Email Spoofing Differs from Phishing?

Email spoofing is a common tactic used by cybercriminals, often confused with phishing, but it’s important to understand that the two are distinct methods. Both methods have different objectives and use different tactics for deceiving people.

Understanding the differences between these two methods will contribute to implementing targeted security measures that protect against both threats.

While both email spoofing and phishing are familiar techniques of scamming, their ways and aims differ greatly. Email spoofing is usually achieved by faking the sender’s identity and the headers of the email, and phishing most often incorporates the use of fake websites, attachments, or other techniques that prompt users to take certain actions.

While spoofing is incorporated in large-scale spam messages or, at times, in well-planned campaigns, phishing is a more personalized type of attack meant to exploit a certain person or company.

Both email spoofing and phishing have very serious legal consequences, but the measures used against them are different. For instance, email authentication can help in email spoofing prevention, namely DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), SPF (Sender Policy Framework), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance). In contrast, the anti-phishing approach is based on the education of the recipient and the employment of an anti-phishing strategy.

Why Email Spoofing is Dangerous?

The dangers of Email Spoofing go way beyond just being an annoyance; it can really hit a company hard when it comes to the bottom line, data security, and reputation. When a spoofing attack is successful, the ripple can disrupt what has been operational budgets, erode customer trust, and bring about long-lasting reputational damages.

This section explores how email spoofing poses serious risks both to businesses and individuals.

1. Financial Losses: The financial losses as a result of email spoofing can be substantial. Here, hackers are most likely to pose as senior executives or vendors and initiate fraudulent wire transfers or demand payments. These scams tend to involve trust, leading to unauthorized transactions that could cost millions with a long-term effect on operational cash flow.
2. Data Breaches: Email spoofing opens avenues for cybercriminals to access sensitive corporate information. By tricking employees into revealing credentials, attackers gain access to company networks and may cause data breaches that result in the compromise of confidential information through the violation of data protection regulations.
3. Reputational Damage: Successful email spoofing attacks can significantly tarnish a company’s reputation. Clients and partners may lose confidence in a business if they fall victim to scams involving what appears to be the company’s email. Repairing this damage requires time and resources and can harm long-term customer relationships.
4. Legal Implications: A business may also suffer legal consequences if an email spoofing attack leads to a data breach or some kind of financial fraud regarding client data. Because regulatory bodies can take fines, legal action by the affected parties may run, and compliance with cybersecurity regulations becomes critical.

Common Types of Email Spoofing Attacks

Email spoofing attacks come in many forms, using various tactics to exploit weaknesses in both email systems and user behavior. From basic display name spoofing to forwarding attacks, each method has its challenges that cybersecurity teams need to work on.

Understanding these common types will let you recognize and mitigate potential threats effectively.

1. Display Name Spoofing: This is when the cybercriminal changes the name within the inbox of the receiver while the original email address remains intact. Most users use the ‘display name’ for verification purposes, so falling prey is not that difficult. In this technique, the weak user interface is leveraged to make deception easier for those who do not pay enough attention to the actual sender’s address.
2. Domain spoofing: This is a form of forgery of the email header to cause the message to appear from a domain that the receiver is familiar with. Most attacks target domains having similar or slightly different names, thereby evading certain security filters designed to manage suspicious communications and deceiving recipients depending on familiar domain names as an authentication method.
3. Reply-To Spoofing: This is a type of email spoof where the “Reply-To” header address is modified, which is supposed to deliver responses other than to the actual sender of the mail. It lists among the common methods used in requesting sensitive information or having fraudulent conversations without raising an immediate suspicious alarm.
4. Lookalike domain attacks: Attackers register similar-looking domains by changing character sets or using different top-level domains. Such emails would look valid if one was not painstaking enough to check who the sender was.
5. Email Forwarding Spoofing: This involves the changing of email forwarding rules in an employee’s account. This allows attackers an opportunity to intercept the email and send it to others, which might be repeated for a substantial time, in the process gathering critical information on the company situation very threatening to the organization.

How Does Email Spoofing Work?

The level of detail with which email spoofing is presented really reveals how attackers manipulate email systems to evade security. Through spoofing email headers and taking advantage of outdated protocols, cybercriminals can easily conduct spoofing attacks without much hassle and remain unnoticed.

This section is meant to explain, step by step, the procedures carried out by an attacker to accomplish these schemes.

1. Headers Spoofing: In spoofing and forging emails, the “FROM” field of the header is targeted, where changes are made to alter the identity of the message sender. Hackers tamper with header information so that the message may resemble an emanation from a source that the victim trusts. This arises because, in e-mail systems, information about senders is managed in a potentially weak manner. It can be a very predominant basis on which most spoofing e-mails could be implemented.
2. SMTP Exploitation: SMTP is an application-layer protocol used for sending and relaying e-mail. It does not have sophisticated built-in authentication features. An attacker could simply connect to the target SMTP server and send messages with forged sender addresses because the SMTP service will not check the originator’s identity.
3. Bypassing authentication protocols: Some cybercriminals bypass mechanisms such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. They send spoofed emails which sometimes manage to pass through security filters via misconfigurations or by other advanced techniques.
4. Using Open Relays: These are email servers that have been configured to accept emails from any sender and relay them to any recipient. There used to be loads of them, which were exploited by attackers; nowadays, better security practices have taken most of those down. They still pose a risk because they permit attackers to send spoofed emails anonymously.
5. Social Engineering: Attackers join technical approaches with social engineering methods, such as crafting tailored messages prompting urgency to gain the trust of potential victims through spoofed emails. This type of psychological manipulation increases the rate of success for spoofing campaigns.

How to Identify Spoofing Emails?

Despite the sophistication, spoofed emails often contain a number of subtle indicators that can give away their devious nature. It helps you identify whether emails are spoofed or genuine.

This section offers an overview of a few practical tips for recognizing spoofed emails before they do harm.

1. Check Email Headers: An ideal method for finding spoofed emails is by looking at the full email headers, which basically indicate the path the message took to get to your inbox. You will be able to trace the “Received” fields and find inconsistencies between the field claiming to be the sender and the real source; in that way, you can find the forged sender information.
2. Verify the sender’s email address: The sender’s email address is often the way spoofing can be identified with careful scrutiny. In some instances, the attackers make use of email addresses that look similar but have minor variations or misspellings as compared to those from legitimate senders. Comparing sender addresses with known contacts helps identify spoofed emails that use subtle changes.
3. Suspicious Content: Spoof emails may contain grammatical errors, and poor sentence structure, or the content might be atypical from the sender. Be cautious of unsolicited attachments or links, as they may be indicators of an attempted spoofing scam.
4. Be aware of urgent requests: Those emails that have to make you feel like you are under urgency, or you must take immediate action. Attackers use this to prohibit critical thinking and speed up victims into making mistakes. These urgent requests should always be verified through another channel to avoid falling victim to spoofing attacks.
5. Using generic greetings: If emails are addressed to you and use some generic greetings, such as “Dear Customer,” instead of your name, any such email is likely spoofed. Legitimate businesses usually tailor their messages. Such generic greetings may be indicative that the sender actually lacks your personal information and should serve as a hint toward a possible spoofing attempt.

How to Protect Against Email Spoofing?

Email spoofing prevention requires a multilayered solution as the process demands both technical and user education components, all the way from the implementation of authentication protocols to training the staff.

This section describes the necessary measures that should be in place to minimize the risk of organizations falling prey to spoofing attacks.

1. Email Authentication Protocols: It is very important to implement email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC that avoid email spoofing. SPF checks for the sender’s IP address, DKIM checks the integrity of the message, while DMARC actually combines SPF and DKIM into one that provides all-rounded protection. These mechanisms thus ensure the presence, authenticity, and delivery to the inbox by authenticating emails and blocking spoofed messages.
2. Education of Employees: One of the critical defenses against email spoofing is providing regular training on identifying spoofed emails and verifying suspicious requests. Educating employees on the best practices for handling even the unlikeliest of communications can go a long way in limiting exposure to social engineering technique loss.
3. Deploy Anti-Spam and Anti-Virus Solutions: Deploying robust anti-spam and anti-virus solutions at the organization level helps block malicious emails before they reach users’ inboxes. Most of these tools boast a number of features that try to detect email spoofing attempts and prevent them from doing harm.
4. Keep Systems and Software Updated: This can help in reducing the email spoofing vulnerability, as regular security patches are issued for fixing any weaknesses that attackers could take advantage of to facilitate the spoofing attempts.
5. Monitoring of Email Traffic: The continuous monitoring of email traffic would help in the quick identification of patterns that come across as abnormal, signaling thereby the spoofing of emails. Set up alerts for high-risk activities and analyze email logs to provide early warnings, allowing swift action to mitigate email spoofing attacks.

Real-world Examples of Email Spoofing

Email spoofing is a popular cyber threat responsible for some of the most damaging cyberattacks in recent memory. Real-world cases study provides valuable insight into how email spoofing scams work and how organizations have responded.

Following are some of the notable email spoofing incidents and their results:

1. The Booking.com Phishing Attack

In November 2023, Booking.com declared that they were examining an email phishing campaign aimed at deceiving its users into relinquishing their credit card details. The attacks began with emails sent to hotel workers, persuading them to click on malicious links that downloaded information-stealing malware onto the hotel networks. After infecting the targets, the attackers extracted client data and used it to send customized phishing emails. These emails, disguised as legitimate requests from the compromised hotel or travel agency, asked for “extra credit card verification.”

The complex and varied operation highlighted individualized information, including previous bookings and customer names. The complexity of the attack demonstrated the evolving techniques of cybercriminals and served as a reminder of the importance of caution when clicking links or sharing private information online.

2. Geek Squad Hybrid Vishing Attack

In 2023, a unique attack came into existence, which combined both email spoofing and “vishing”-voice phishing. In the Geek Squad hybrid vishing attack, cybercriminals sent out fake notifications claiming fraudulent charges had apparently occurred on Geek Squad service accounts belonging to unsuspecting individuals. The emails provided a phone number for concerned victims to call in order to resolve the issue.

However, once connected over the phone, the sneaky attackers attempted to extract other personal details or fraudulent payments. This incident demonstrated how skilled scammers now use multiple channels simultaneously to deceive victims, amplifying the impact of their fraudulent schemes.

3. The PayPal Account Suspension Scam

Spoofed emails mimicking PayPal have seen a notable increase, with attackers crafting messages to appear as though they come directly from the trusted payments platform. Such emails notify the receivers of matters such as account suspensions and request them to click on links directing them to fake websites or provide personal details, for instance, their login credentials.

As a result, PayPal frequently advises its users to stay vigilant, regularly issuing warnings about phishing emails that falsely use the company’s name and branding. In the end, this example serves as a critical reminder that urgent, action-demanding communications should always be thoroughly vetted by accessing official organization websites instead of unknowingly clicking on links within questionable emails.

4. Spoofing Crelan Bank

In one of the most sophisticated attacks in 2016, malevolent actors imitated emails from high-level Crelan Bank executives in Belgium to authorize the unauthorized transfer of a colossal 70 million Euro into fraudulent offshore accounts. Through ingenious social manipulation, they convinced finance department personnel that the substantial transactions were authentic.

This massive incident underscores the importance of implementing multi-layered authentication as well as enacting stringent verification processes for all substantial financial operations.

5. Mattel $3 Million Scam

In 2016, toy manufacturing giant Mattel fell victim to a sophisticated email spoofing attack. Attackers, convincingly posing as the CEO, instructed an employee to transfer $3 million for a fraudulent business deal. While most of the substantial funds were recovered, this case highlights how even the largest, most recognized organizations can potentially remain vulnerable if proper multifaceted verification protocols are not rigorously established and followed.

Email Spoofing Statistics

Email spoofing has now become a serious issue for businesses, as cyber attackers are hugely dependent on this threat vector for spreading phishing attacks aimed at information theft. The following statistics represent the prevalence in their millions every day.

These alarming numbers highlight the essential nature of robust email security measures in combating the growing threat of email spoofing.

1. As per the report, 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent daily, and most of them use spoofing emails. This is a clear indication of the magnitude of phishing and spoofing globally.
2. Almost 88% of organizations are continuing to face spear-phishing attacks daily, most of them through email spoofing to deceive and take down the system.
3. Most of the phishing attacks involve email spoofing, which costs businesses an average of about $17,700 every minute. This is the amount that cybercrimes absorb from the economy.
4. Around 63% of the companies have already implemented some form of email security measures to counter phishing and spoofing attacks.
5. Attacks through phishing increased by as much as 220% during the latter part of the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein email spoofing was mainly used to take advantage of the fear and urgency that came with the pandemic.
6. In total, Microsoft detected and investigated some 35 million business email compromise attempts between April 2022 and April 2023, averaging about 156,000 daily attacks against organizations worldwide.
7. Compromised emails accounted for about 19,369 incidents that led to losses amounting to $1.8 billion, arguably one of the costliest phishing cybercrimes in recent times.
8. Out of approximately 100 million phishing emails intercepted by Gmail’s filters, 68% of phishing emails are new scams, and most of them had blank subject lines to evade spam filters.

One of the factors contributing to an average cost of $4.91 million per data breach in 2021 was phishing and email spoofing, where financial services and healthcare were the most frequently attacked sectors.

Conclusion

By understanding the mechanisms of email spoofing and its dangers, organizations can actively take strong security measures that ensure sensitive data protection, client trust, and maintenance of stakeholder relationships. This shall be through strong security protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, training of employees to identify spoofing attempts and periodic monitoring and analysis of email traffic. These measures will help organizations minimize their exposure to this pervasive threat.

Proactively fighting email spoofing saves not only losses within companies but also creates a culture of cybersecurity awareness inside organizations, strengthening resilience against evolving cyber threats today. Businesses must stay ahead of the attackers by partnering with experts in cybersecurity and leveraging leading-edge technologies. To take your protection from email spoofing and other cyber threats to the next level, try SentinelOne’s Singularity™ platform and improve the security posture of your organization.

FAQs

1. What is email spoofing in cybersecurity?

In cybersecurity, email spoofing is a form of sending emails with a fake sender address to make it appear as if the email originates from a trusted source. Attackers manipulate email headers to mislead recipients about the real origin of the message. This tactic is very commonly used in phishing campaigns to trick targeted individuals into sharing sensitive information or performing actions that would eventually result in security compromise.

2. What happens when an email is spoofed?

When an email is spoofed, a victim receives an email that appears to be from a specific sender, but in reality, it has been sent by an attacker. Spoofed emails may contain demands for sensitive information, malicious attachments, or links to fraudulent websites. When misled, the recipient might unintentionally share confidential data or even approve unauthorized transactions and infect their systems with malware.

3. What is the difference between phishing and spoofing emails?

Phishing emails are fraudulent emails that intend to steal information or to infect your computer with malware merely by pretending to be from a trusting entity. Spoofing emails involve forging the sender’s address so that the email at least appears to come from a valid source. While email spoofing does have its place as one of the techniques used in conducting phishing attacks, not all spoofed emails are intended to phish, and not all phishing emails perform spoofing.

4. What are examples of email spoofing scams?

Some examples of email spoofing scams involve impersonations of a senior company executive requesting urgent wire transfers, fake invoices from trusted vendors, or malware distributed in attachments that appear to come from legitimate contacts. These scams use trust and familiarity as vectors to deceive recipients into performing harmful actions.

5. How can I identify a spoofed email?

To identify a spoofed email:

1. Check the sender’s email address for inconsistencies or spelling errors.
2. Look at the email headers and compare the “From” field with the “Return-Path” field.
3. Look out for generic greetings, urgent requests, or contents that are out of character compared to the sender.
4. Verify legitimate requests through a second form of communication.
5. Stay away from unsolicited attachments or links.

These steps will help you in identifying spoofed emails.