How does Spoofing actually work?

Spoofing is a cybercrime act whereby a person impersonates a trusted organization or brand so as to gain access to your personal information without permission. That person could be hailing from a different country with a different time zone or state, making the fake identity look very real. It’s possible to be spoofed by just about anyone online, from foreign scammers and malware to even your co-worker stealing your identity. Spoofing can be done on social media, in email, and via fake IP addresses.

What is spoofing?

How does it Work?

There are a few ways that spoofers gain access to your information.

Spoofing on social media

Social media accounts are not always used for authentication purposes. For example, a fake Twitter account will attempt to tweet messages using your name or try and obtain private information you have posted on the social network, like location details.

On the other hand, spoofers may hack an authentic account that has sensitive information stored within it by gaining access through your password. Once they have access, all passwords are the same, so it is easy to share the details with the public or private sector.

Spoofing on email

Many people consider email to be their most private communication, but that isn’t always the case. This method works by sending out emails that appear as if they are from a trusted source but come from a spoofed one. Moreover, cybercriminals you into opening an email or visiting a website so as to obtain the information you would otherwise consider safe. These emails have links to websites that host malware.

A good example of how spoofing works on email is when an email from your bank, airline or another trusted organization declares that you have won a prize in the recent draw, but the message must be read aloud for it to be transferred. This can result in your account being hacked.

IP Spoofing

IP spoofing is any act of changing your IP address to one that is not yours. If a hacker could spoof your IP address, they could display a web page that appears as if it were from your computer, but in reality, it was created by them. This can be done through a website that can change the IP address of your device and mimic what you are doing.

Why would someone spoof?

Spoofing is one of the most common cybercrimes in low-risk scenarios such as phishing attempts and identity theft. It offers a degree of anonymity for the perpetrator, so you may never know who is spoofing you. Criminals may also use spoofing to gain access to your bank account, steal important information from a financial institution, or even create a false identity to steal money directly from that bank account.

Moreover, a scammer may spoof to make money by impersonating government or financial organizations and even obtaining sensitive information such as bank details and passwords. The list goes on and is completely dependent on the individual’s goal.

Victims of identity theft can face problems paying interest on stolen funds, with possible imprisonment. Worse still, the misuse of spoofed information can cause problems on your job, with the agency and employer believing someone in their ranks to be responsible for the action, and they may start to monitor you, to shield their company against these heinous acts.

How to avoid being spoofed

There is no real way of completely blocking this attack, although there are ways to lower your chances of falling victim. The best way to know if someone is spoofing is by looking at the message headers of any emails, instant messages, or tweets they have sent. The information displayed in the header will show who the sender is and what IP address is used.

Moreover, a trusted antivirus security that features anti-spoof technology will monitor traffic flow and identify fake websites using “spoofing .”It then blocks the fake sites from being accessed through the user’s browser, mobile app, or mail client. This can be used to keep your computer safe from cybercrimes by blocking spoofing and preventing a hacker from gaining access to your information.