What is Email Domain Spoofing?

There are, unfortunately, a myriad of ways cybercriminals seek to defraud victims, including one of the most common — yet trickiest to spot — techniques: domain spoofing with email. With this method, attackers send an email that appears to be coming from a trusted source, such as one’s employer or even a personal friend. Within the message, the scammer may attempt a phishing scam — soliciting personal information such as credit card numbers — or could even redirect the email user to a malicious website that may enable the person to hack into the email user’s computer.

While domain spoofing with email is a serious threat to privacy, there are some things email users can do to defend against this criminal activity. Here are a few items to keep in mind:

Just Don’t Click

Follow the rule of thumb that you should never click on any links in an email. Even if you think you know the sender, there’s a chance that the email is actually from someone with malicious intentions. The same goes for attached files, which can be used to gain access to a user’s device. Don’t click on any attachments, unless you’re expecting a particular file from a particular sender.

Phishing: Don’t Take the Bait

Phishing schemes have gotten more and more sophisticated, to the point that it may be very hard to tell when you’re being scammed. Play it safe and just avoid the hook — if any email, from any sender, requests personal information, raise the red flag and delete it.

Protect Yourself

Practice safe email usage, including create secure passwords and using private email. With this type of email address, such as those offered by Reagan.com, the system uses end-to-end encryption—so you can rest assured that the sender has been verified and is trustworthy.

Domain spoofing with email is getting harder and harder to spot — but the risks of falling prey to such a scam are getting higher and higher. Follow these recommendations to become an even more savvy email user and do your part to fight back against cybercriminals

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