When it comes to email, brands need to be especially careful. Spoofing attacks are on the rise, and they can take a serious toll on your reputation.
The dangers of spoofing attacks extend beyond business, with an estimated $100 billion in annual losses for businesses. Fraudsters are using these types of attacks to steal money, distribute malicious content, and damage reputations.
These types of attacks involve sending emails from a false address that appears to come from someone else. This is also known as “fake” or “spoofed” email, where an attacker impersonates another person or company in order to deceive the recipient or third party.
Because of their high visibility and trustworthiness, brands are often targeted by spammers and phishing attacks. Let’s dive into what you should know about spoofing attacks, their causes, and how to protect your brand going forward.
How do email spoofing attacks work?
Before we get into the dangers of spoofing attacks, let’s take a look at how they work. It starts with the attacker finding a website that allows users to submit information via email. For example, if you own a business and have a “Contact Us” page, potential customers might submit their information by email. This is where the attacker comes in.
They’ll try to trick people into sending the information to their email address, not yours. After receiving the information, the attacker can do anything from stealing the person’s identity to spreading false information about your company.
Types of spoofing attacks
While there are many ways spoofing attacks can happen, the most common ones are as follows:
E-commerce spoofing attacks
This type of attack happens when an online shopper submits their payment information to the wrong company.
Email address spoofing attacks
This is when a spammer uses an email address that is different from the one they actually have.
DNS spoofing attacks
This attack involves faking the details of a DNS server. DNS servers are the computers that store data like email addresses so that other computers can access that information.
IP Address spoofing attacks
This type of attack involves falsifying the IP address that identifies a computer on a network.
SMTP spoofing attacks
This is the most common type of spoofing attack and occurs when an attacker sends email from a different address.
Web spoofing attacks
This type of attack involves falsifying the identity of a website, usually in an effort to trick people into handing over their info or giving away sensitive information.
How to avoid these attacks?
After reading about all the dangers of spoofing attacks and how they work, you might be wondering how to avoid them. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to protect your brand and email reputation.
Use DMARC authentication
This stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance. It’s an email security protocol that helps authenticate and verify the source of an email.
You can create your free DMARC account right now and start protecting your domain from these and many other threats.
Use SPF authentication
Short for Sender Policy Framework, this is another way to verify an email’s source and protect against spoofing attacks.
Verify the email address
Before customers can sign up to your mailing list, make sure they verify their email address. This will help you avoid letting an attacker sign up under a false email address.
Be selective with your mailing list
While building a mailing list is a great marketing strategy, you don’t want to let anyone, and everyone sign up. Make sure to keep your listing selective so that you can avoid letting spammers and scammers join your list.
Conclusion
Email spoofing attacks are a serious threat to brands and individuals alike. With all the losses that it has generated for over the years, it’s important to stay vigilant and educate yourself on the dangers of spoofing.
