{"id":352684,"date":"2016-04-04T10:42:08","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/consumer\/online-scams\/what-is-email-phishing-and-spoofing.html"},"modified":"2024-04-07T01:14:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-07T06:14:55","slug":"what-is-email-phishing-and-spoofing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/consumer\/online-scams\/what-is-email-phishing-and-spoofing.html","title":{"rendered":"What Is Email Phishing and Spoofing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What Is Email Phishing and Spoofing?<\/h1>\n
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\n By Hannah Hilst<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Melissa Bender, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last reviewed\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

Email phishing and spoofing are types of online scams. Both types involve a scammer pretending to be a different person or have a different purpose than they claim. In reality, the scammer is trying to get information from you.<\/p>\r\n

Anyone with an email account is vulnerable to fraud. Con artists use phishing and spoofing tactics through email. This article provides the basics of these online fraud tactics, how to spot them, and how to avoid becoming a victim.<\/p>\r\n

What Is the Difference Between Phishing and Spoofing?<\/h2>\r\n

Phishing hides the scammer’s true intent. Spoofing hides the scammer’s true identity. They can work in tandem. Spoofing and email phishing both use deception to trick users, usually so they reveal sensitive information.<\/p>\r\n

Email phishing is the act of impersonating a business or other entity to trick the email recipient into giving up sensitive personal information. Data gleaned from phishing can be used to commit identity theft<\/a> or to gain access to online accounts.<\/p>\r\n

Email spoofing involves a header or images appearing to be from someone (or somewhere) other than the actual source. Similarly, IP spoofing consists of using a forged IP address to trick the victim’s computer into believing it came from a trusted source.<\/p>\r\n

Email Phishing Scams Seek Information<\/h3>\r\n

You’ve likely seen a phishing message before. It asks you to provide or verify your personal information. Yet, the email looks suspicious upon closer inspection. You might not recognize the sender’s email address, or it appears to be a random string of letters and numbers.<\/p>\r\n

Often, this sort of communication can look something like this:<\/p>\r\n

"During our regular verification of accounts, we couldn’t verify your information. Please click here to update and verify your information."<\/p>\r\n

Such a request for sensitive data is almost always a phishing attempt.<\/p>\r\n

In a phishing attack, the scammer usually seeks data such as:<\/p>\r\n