You’ve probably seen it before—a message that looks like it’s from your boss, a vendor, or someone inside your company. The name checks out. The request seems urgent. But something doesn’t feel right.
That gut feeling might be the only thing standing between you and a successful phishing attack—and chances are, you’ve just encountered email spoofing.
Email spoofing is when a cybercriminal forges the sender’s name or address to make an email appear to come from someone you know and trust. It’s one of the most dangerous forms of phishing because it doesn’t rely on malware or broken grammar. It relies on people being too busy to look twice.
Let’s take a closer look at what email spoofing is, how it works, and what you can do to protect your team from falling for it.
Protect your business from email spoofing with proactive training and security tools.
What Is Email Spoofing?
Email spoofing is a tactic cybercriminals use to trick you into thinking an email is from someone you know and trust—when it’s not.
It works by forging parts of the email, especially the “From” name and address, to make it appear legitimate. For example, you might receive a message that looks like it came from your CEO, your bank, or even your own IT department, but the actual sender is a scammer hoping you won’t look closely.
Spoofed emails are often used in phishing attacks to:
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Steal passwords or payment info
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Trick someone into wiring money
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Get recipients to click malicious links or open dangerous attachments
Unlike spam or malware-laced messages, email spoofing relies on social engineering—exploiting human trust instead of breaking into a system. That makes it especially dangerous, because even people who are cautious with technology can fall for a message that appears to come from a trusted source.
💡 Did You Know?
Over 70% of Business Email Compromise scams involve email spoofing, often impersonating executives or finance staff.
How Email Spoofing Works
To understand how email spoofing works, it helps to know how email is delivered.
When someone sends you an email, your inbox displays:
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The display name (like “Emily from HR”)
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The email address behind that name (like
[email protected])
Email clients—especially on phones—often hide the full email address unless you click or hover. This is where spoofers strike.
A scammer can send an email with the display name “Emily from HR”, but the actual address might be something like [email protected]. At first glance, especially if you’re in a hurry, you might not notice the difference.
Some attackers take this further by:
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Using lookalike domains (e.g.,
@yourcompony.cominstead of@yourcompany.com) -
Exploiting publicly available information (like names from your website or LinkedIn)
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Creating reply chains that mimic real email threads
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Sending spoofed emails from compromised accounts, so the domain is technically real but the sender is a threat
And because email protocols (like SMTP) weren’t originally designed to verify senders, spoofing is still possible—unless the organization has strong protections like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in place.
This makes spoofing an effective tool for attackers to impersonate leadership, vendors, or coworkers—and why it’s critical to train your team to look beyond the name.
💡 Did You Know?
Most users only check the display name—not the full email address—making email spoofing especially effective during busy workdays.
Why Email Spoofing Is So Dangerous
Email spoofing is dangerous because it doesn’t rely on technical weaknesses—it relies on human behavior. Unlike malware that requires software vulnerabilities or brute-force attacks that try to break passwords, spoofing works by impersonating someone the recipient already trusts. That’s what makes it so effective—and so hard to detect.
When an email appears to come from a known contact or familiar authority figure, most people let their guard down. They’re far more likely to take action without double-checking the details. All it takes is a convincing display name and a carefully worded message, and someone could wire funds, share login credentials, or open an infected attachment without realizing they’ve just been manipulated. It only takes one moment of distraction to fall for it.
Spoofed emails also bypass many of the defenses companies rely on. Spam filters may not flag the message because there’s no virus or suspicious link. Endpoint protection won’t stop it if nothing gets downloaded. And users don’t always think to question the name of someone they speak to every week. That’s why spoofing is such a popular tactic in Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks—because when it works, it works very well.
The real danger lies in how normal it all looks. That’s why detection requires more than software—it requires awareness. And why training your team to recognize the subtle signs of email spoofing is one of the most important things you can do to protect your business.
Real Example of a Spoofed Email
Subject: Request for urgent payment
Display Name: CFO – Sarah White
Email Address: [email protected]
“Hi—can you process a wire transfer today for a vendor we’re onboarding? I’ll send the details in the next email. Let’s keep this confidential, please.”
Red Flags:
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Personal email address for a corporate sender
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Unusual request involving money
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Request for secrecy
It looks like a standard CFO directive—until you check the sender’s actual address.
How to Detect Email Spoofing
Teach your team to look beyond the name. Here are a few quick checks:
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Hover over the display name to see the full email address
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Look for inconsistencies in how the person usually communicates (tone, urgency, odd phrases)
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Check for odd timing (e.g., your manager emailing at 2 a.m. on a Saturday)
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Confirm suspicious requests through another channel—call, Teams, or Slack
When in doubt: don’t click, don’t reply, and don’t download.
💡 Did You Know?
Cybercriminals often bypass technical defenses by exploiting trust. That’s why email spoofing is one of the most common tactics used in Business Email Compromise attacks.
What to Do If You Spot a Spoofed Email
If you suspect a message is spoofed:
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Report it to your IT or security team immediately
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Don’t interact with the email—no clicking, replying, or opening attachments
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Mark it as phishing or spam in your email client
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Alert the real person being impersonated so they can warn others
The sooner it’s reported, the faster your organization can prevent wider impact.
Protecting Your Business from Email Spoofing
Technology helps, but awareness is your best defense. Here’s how you can reduce risk:
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Phishing simulations: Teach employees how to respond to suspicious emails using realistic training
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Security awareness training: Help your team recognize spoofing attempts before they act
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Email authentication protocols: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to make spoofing harder
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Endpoint protection and MDR: Detect and contain threats if a spoofed email leads to a breach
How PCC Can Help
At Professional Computer Concepts, we help businesses take a proactive approach to cybersecurity. Our team can:
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Implement anti-spoofing protections like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
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Run phishing simulations that include spoofed sender scenarios
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Deliver clear, engaging training that helps your team recognize email spoofing before it becomes a crisis
We also offer dark web monitoring, EDR, MDR, PAM, and more as part of a complete cybersecurity stack designed for growing businesses.
Learn More
Final Thoughts
Email spoofing works because it exploits trust, not technology. And that makes it everyone’s problem—not just IT’s.
The good news? You don’t need to become a cybersecurity expert to stay protected. A little awareness, the right tools, and smart training go a long way in stopping spoofed emails before they reach their target.
Let Professional Computer Concepts help your team stay sharp—and your data stay safe.