Email: what is a email fake and how do you tell the difference? There are several ways to fake an email, and cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
For example, if you receive an email from your boss or an important client, you don’t think too long before opening it, do you? That’s where hackers’ ability to create email fake comes in.
Spoofing is an identity falsification technique often used to trick the user into opening the message.
It involves altering the “From” field so that the sender is a fake, impersonating someone or a company.
It’s very important to know how to recognize a malicious message. So pay attention to the tips below!
Table of contents
What is a email fake: tips for recognizing it at first glance
Check the sender’s domain
As mentioned above, spoofing alters the sender by changing one letter of the domain, making the email fake almost unnoticeable.
For example: [email protected], whereas the correct one would be [email protected].
Emails can also be masked in the following way: the .gov extension, for example.
Let’s look at the email: [email protected]. This is a real domain, but it’s not the real domain of the town hall.
This applies to emails from banks, associations, billing companies, health plans, etc. Although anti-spam filters are active for this type of email, you can never be too vigilant.
Generally, emails with fake domains are sent to the spam folder.
This is because the senders of bulk emails have authentications that identify them as the real senders, i.e. they certify that a message has been sent legitimately.
These authentications are configured by the domains themselves. They are
- SPF: Sender Policy Framework. This authentication lists all the IPSs that are allowed to send emails from that domain.
- DKIM: DomainKeys Identified Mail. This authentication acts as an encrypted signature of the domain on every message it sends.
- DMARC: Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance: this is all the information a server needs to know after checking the SFP and DKIM settings,
In other words, these are the instructions a server needs to follow when it receives messages with SPF and/or DKIM failures. Quarantine? Reject? That’s for each sender’s DMARC policy to decide.
Exaggerated promotions
Be wary of offers that promise excessive earnings. This type of advertising usually hides a malicious intention to make the user click on a link.
This is software designed to collect passwords for banks, credit cards and even your email address.
So don’t click on suspicious links. Ideally, emails from unknown sources should not be opened at all.
Sending data
Never send personal data by email, cell phone messages and the like. Be on the lookout for this type of request, as it is not the companies’ usual practice.
Criminals try to trick users with emails asking them to update their registration. Don’t fall for it!
Keep an eye on the attachments
The attachment can be a repository for viruses and other malicious intentions, such as collecting passwords. Generally, people who shop online view the boleto on the shopping site itself and download the document immediately.
Fake boletos are easy to create. So if you receive any kind of invoice (without your consent) or other documents attached to it, be wary!
Pressure
You know those lightning deals that push you to quickly click on a link or button, otherwise “your chance will be over”? Watch out!
How to protect yourself
- Changing your email password frequently is a protective measure that makes it harder for email fake to get in.
- Periodically scanning your computer for viruses using antivirus programs is also recommended. In this case, it helps to protect equipment that has already been damaged by email fake.
Email: what is damaging for companies
We are all vulnerable to email fake, but organizations are even more susceptible to the damage caused by the entry of fake corporate emails, which can invade the company’s own data and/or that of third parties.
Just as a reminder, the General Data Protection Act – LGPD – states that companies are responsible for the security of their own information, as well as the data of customers and suppliers that passes through their files.
This means that in the event of a hacker attack or data theft, the company holding the information is liable to the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) for the lack of online security.
In order to avoid problems, companies should have a professional specialized in information security on staff.
Does your agency comply with the General Data Protection Act?
Data theft is just one of the many damages caused by email fake.
What is a hoax email and its damage to professionals
Another type of email fake that gives marketing professionals a lot of headaches are temporary emails, also known as disposable emails.
There are several sites on the web that offer the creation of disposable emails that only last a few hours.
This is done so that the user can access quick services such as downloading an ebook, for example, without having to create a digital relationship with the source.
When the user registers a temporary email in the form, the fake address gets on the list and causes a lot of damage to the owner of the base.
To prevent this kind of damage, the SafetyMails real-time verification API prevents disposable emails from entering registration forms.
This way, websites, landing pages, applications and other web services that require the installation of forms remain protected against bad emails.
What is a email fake: conclusion
email fake have always existed and will continue to exist. Therefore, the best protection measure is to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.
The simple fact of not opening suspicious emails and, consequently, not interacting with them, already prevents attacks from taking place. This way, neither the user, the company nor the professional suffers any damage.
FAQ
It’s a spoofing technique that hijacks the “From” field of the email by changing the sender, pretending to be the sender of the message.
In addition to spoofing, which alters the domain of emails, the communication used in the messages is a cause for concern. Attention must be paid to the type of approach. Exaggerated promotions, requests to update data, instigating quick action are among the techniques most commonly used by criminals.
A tampered email can carry data collection malware. As a result, companies are susceptible to the theft of their own data, as well as that of third parties, and have to answer to the National Data Protection Agency for non-compliance with the LGPD.
When a email fake enters a registration form, it contaminates the mailing list and leads to it being blocked by ISPs. To avoid this and other damage, you need to install the SafetyMails real-time verification API, which prevents bad emails from entering forms.