Email spoofing refers to emails that appear to come from one source when they are actually sent from another. Individuals, who send "junk" or "SPAM" emails, usually want the email to appear from an email address that may not exist. This way, the email cannot be traced back to the originator.
Spoofing is very dangerous
There are many possible reasons why people send emails that spoof the sender's address: sometimes just to cause confusion, but more often to discredit the person whose email address is spoofed: using their name to send a nasty or insulting message.
Sometimes email spoofing is used for what is known as "social engineering", which aims to trick recipients into revealing passwords or other information. For example, you may get an email from what appears to be an LSE email administrator, or from your ISP, asking you to go to a Web page and enter your password, or change it to one of their choosing. Alternatively, you may receive an email asking for detailed information about a project. The From field indicates that the message is from LSE, but it is from a competitor.
Dealing with Fake Emails
There's really no way to prevent receiving fake emails. If you get a message that is extremely insulting, asks for something highly confidential, or just plain doesn't make sense, then you might want to find out if it's really from the person it says it's from. You can look at the Internet Header information to see where the email actually came from.
Remember that even though your email address may be fake, this does not mean that the spoofer has gained access to your mailbox.
Display Internet Header Information
Email collects information from each computer it passes through on its way to the recipient, and this is stored in the email's Internet Header.
1. With the Outlook Inbox displayed, right-click on the message and click on the Options command to display the Message Options dialog box:
Internet headers are best read from the bottom up, as they are added to the email as it passes through the system.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the information in the Internet Header box, then scroll slowly upwards to read the information about the origin of the email. The most important information follows in the "Return-path::" and "Reply-to" sections. If these are different, the email is not from the actual sender.
