What is spoofing?

Overview

Spoofing is a cyber crime when someone impersonates a person or a company by pretending to be someone else to access sensitive information or spread malware.

Spoofing can apply to various communication channels and may involve different levels of technical complexities. 

How spoofing works

Spoofing usually relies on two components: 

• The spoof (for example, a fake website)
• The social engineering aspect

Once the hacker gains the victim's trust, they can gain sensitive data, unauthorized network access, bypass access controls, and so on. Some attackers target networks rather than individuals for spoofing to spread malware, bypass security systems, or prepare for subsequent attacks.

What are the types of spoofing?

Spoofing attacks come in many forms, including but not limited to, the following:

• Email spoofing: An attacker tricks the victim through an email message, including links or attachments infected with malware. 
• Website/ URL spoofing: Attackers design a website that mimics an existing website to gain the login and personal information of the victims.
• IP spoofing: Attackers disguise a computer IP address and use it as their own to hide their location. It is used in DDoS attacks.
• ARP spoofing: In ARP spoofing, the attacker's MAC is linked to a legitimate network IP address. The attacker receives the data meant for the owner of that IP address and can use it to carry out DoS and MitM (man in the middle) attacks.
• DNS spoofing: Attackers use DNS spoofing to divert traffic from a website to a different IP address to make the victims spread malware. 
• Caller ID spoofing: Attackers falsify the information sent to your caller ID to disguise their identity. Once the victim answers the call, the attackers try to obtain sensitive information from them. 
• GPS spoofing: Fake signals are broadcasted to trick the victim. It is used to hack a car and send the victim to the wrong location. It can interfere with the GPS signals of ships and aircraft.
• SMS spoofing: Attackers mislead victims with fake displayed sender information. These spoofed texts include links to SMS phishing sites or malware downloads.
• Facial spoofing: It can occur through illegally obtained biometric data from a person's online profiles.

How to prevent spoofing attacks

Specific best practices can reduce your chances of falling prey to a spoofing attack. Some important ones are listed below:

• Be alert: Be cautious when giving personal information to someone online. 
• Spam filter: Turn on the spam filter in your email.
• Stay alert: Never divulge sensitive information online or on the phone.
• IP address: Hide your IP address.
• Report: Report spoofing attempts.
• Reliable browser: Have a robust and reliable browser.
• Strong passwords: Use strong passwords and change them frequently.
• Call to confirm: If you receive a suspicious message, then call the sender to confirm.
• Anti-virus software: Invest in reliable anti-virus and anti-malware software.