Email “spoofing” is when an email message appears to have originated from one source when it actually was sent from another source. Email spoofing is often an attempt to trick the user into making a damaging statement or releasing sensitive information (such as passwords). Spoofed email can range from harmless pranks to social engineering ploys. Examples of the later include:
email claiming to be from a system administrator requesting users to change their passwords to a specified string and threatening to suspend their account if they do not comply.
email claiming to be from a person in authority requesting users to send them a copy of a password file or other sensitive information
Mail uses social engineering to tell the user of a contest that the user may have won or the details of a product that the user might like. The sender is trying to encourage the user to open the letter, read its contents, and interact with them in some way that is financially beneficial to them.
email claiming to be from a system administrator requesting users to change their passwords to a specified string and threatening to suspend their account if they do not comply.
email claiming to be from a person in authority requesting users to send them a copy of a password file or other sensitive information
Mail uses social engineering to tell the user of a contest that the user may have won or the details of a product that the user might like. The sender is trying to encourage the user to open the letter, read its contents, and interact with them in some way that is financially beneficial to them.
