Over the years, scammers have developed increasingly sophisticated methods to scam you out of your money, privacy, security, and sanity.
They have impersonated everyone from your family members and friends to your employers, insurance companies and financial institutions.
Now they’re going a step further and sending emails from you. That’s right, these scammers are spoofing your email address so that the emails you receive look like they’re coming from your own address.
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Illustration of a man getting angry at a spoofed email (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutson)
What is spoofing?
When scammers spoof your email address, they forge an email address to make it look like it came from someone other than the original sender. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to spoof an email address. Most email service providers use a different spoofing scheme to make it look like the sender is sending the email.[差出人]It does not check the validity of what you enter into the field.
Additionally, scammers can save and use a different name in the email address of a contact. For example, the email address may be scammer@gmail.com, but the contact’s first and last name may be saved in the contact as “John Smith.” When the email reaches the recipient, they will simply think they received an email from “John Smith.”
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Email app images (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutson)
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Why would a scammer fake your email?
Sending emails from your own address may seem odd, but it makes sense for scammers. There are two reasons scammers might use your address to send spam:
1. Bypass spam filters: Fake your email address as it is more likely to get past filters as your own email address may be flagged as spam or sent to the junk folder.
2. Seems legitimate: If an email appears to be coming from your account, you are more likely to believe it is legitimate.
Locking information illustration (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutson)
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What can you do to prevent identity theft?
Unfortunately, there’s no surefire way to stop someone from spoofing your email address, but you can take steps to protect yourself.
Please check your email account: Double-check your drafts and sent folders to make sure this email wasn’t sent from your own email account. If you can see where you’re logged onto your email account, make sure it’s not open on a device you don’t recognize.
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Secure your email account: If you don’t already have a strong, unique password, Two-factor authentication If so, change your password and enable two-factor authentication. Password Manager Generate and store complex passwords.
Do not click or respond to any links: As you know, never click on links or open attachments. The best way to protect yourself from malicious links that can install malware and access your personal information is to install antivirus software on all your devices. This protection will also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. We’ve handpicked the winners of the best antivirus protection of 2024 for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
Report spam: Although it is annoying, continuing to flag and report these spam emails will help email service providers improve their spam filters.
Set the filters. If these emails use common phrases or words, set up a filter to flag emails with these characteristics and move them to your spam or junk folder.
Please contact your email service provider: Some email service providers have specific options, including tools and procedures, for handling spoofed emails.
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Don’t reply to scammers: Although it may be tempting to vent your frustration at the scammer, resist the urge to reply: replying will only confirm that their email managed to evade filters and that you are in fact the owner of a valid, active email account.
Invest in a personal data deletion service: While no service promises to remove all your data from the Internet, using a removal service not only helps protect your information from spammers and data brokers, but also helps constantly monitor and automate the process of continually removing your information from hundreds of sites over time. Check out my recommended data deletion services here.
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Important points about the cart
Protecting yourself from the never-ending stream of spam emails is no doubt a tough task. Now, scammers are using your name and email address to target you. Your email address will likely be sold by data brokers, so it’s impossible to keep it off the scammer’s digital business card, but following the simple steps outlined in this article can help you stay sane and safer.
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