Definition of a Spoofing Attack:  A situation in which on person or program successfully masquerades as another by falsifying data, thereby gaining an illegitimate advantage.

 

Email Spoofing

Have you received an email from the “Government” or some other person/business, asking you to validate your personal information via email or by clicking on a link?

Well don’t!  Hackers are waiting for you to take action and pass along your information.  Here are some clues that you can spot in order to figure out if this is a scam or not.

1. Check the email address.  You can HOVER over the address line which will give you the actual address.  Make sure it makes sense.  If it is supposed to come from the Government then seeing the address “[email protected]” will tell you that this is CLEARLY a scam.
2. How is their tone in the subject line or email?  If it is aggressive or threatening, than that is another sign.
3. Are there typos, misspellings or other improper grammar used...if so this is your 3rd sign!
4. You should never be asked to verify your personal information, login details/passwords etc. via email.
5. Did they give you a link to follow?  Make sure that makes sense as well.  Again, if it is supposed to come from the Government but it sends you to the link http://mcmaster.weebly.com, then you know to NOT click on the link as it makes no sense what so ever!

 

Caller ID Spoofing

Pretty much all of us have Caller ID, which will tell us who is calling and from where.  Hackers however, are taking advantage of VoIP networks, which can allow callers to present false names and numbers in order to pretend to be someone they are not.

 

IP Address Spoofing

When a hacker hijacks a browser.  When a visitor types in a URL of a trusted site but is taken to a fraudulent web page created by the hacker.  The hacker could then steal or alter sensitive data, they can get your credit card numbers, passwords or install malware.  They can also take control of your computer in order to send out spam.

Protecting yourself is the best action!  Remember to always have security measures in place.

Quick Tips

Do you have a firewall in place?

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Topic:  Spoofing