This guide will show you how to prevent IP spoofing when a scammer tricks you into thinking they are a trusted source. They do this by using websites, emails, phone calls, texts, IP addresses and servers.
The main goal of spoofing is usually to get your personal information, money or to spread malware. Scammers will use every way possible to try to steal your identity and assets.
It is challenging to detect IP spoofing, so it gets even more crucial to know about the preventive methods.
Protect yourself now with the following:
Damages IP Spoofing Can Cause
Internet sends and receives data through small packets. These packets include the source information. You can identify these packets if you know the source and destination IP addresses.
An IP spoofer changes the original address with a fake or spoofed IP address. This is used in cyberattacks to disguise where the attack is coming from. IP spoofing is more common in Denial-of-Service attacks, which are intended to shut down a machine or network so that users can't access it.
- Floods the system with traffic causing it to shut down completely
- Erasing data
- Creates technical confusion
- Ruin your company image
- Opens the door for personal data theft from your database
- Allows system and network access pretending to be a legitimate source
Know The Signs
Typically IP spoofing shows no sign or very hard to notice until something goes wrong.
What Can You Do Immediately?
- Unplug from the network
- Use VPN to hide your IP ( See more here)
- Packet Filtering compares the header of every packet to the source IP address. If there are any discrepancies, the computer doesn't let the packet finish its route.
- Use PKI To Authenticating Users and Devices
- Add firewall to prevent suspicious activities from happening as much as possible. It filters out traffic that is not trusted, like traffic from spoofed IP addresses.
- Switch on spam filter to prevent most spoofed emails from coming into your inbox.
- Confirm the information, simply put in an effort just reading and checking out the message to ensure it's real before clicking on anything
- Hover before clicking to show exactly where the link is pointing to (link URL may show on the bottom of the browser)
- Set up two-factor authentication to get extra layer of protection
- Get cybersecurity software to removal malware and to protect yourself as much as possible
Build Better Cyber Security Habits
Don’t randomly click unfamiliar links or downloads without checking
Avoid giving out your personal and private information, such as a credit card or social security number on untrustworthy online sites
Change password every 6 - 12 months
Is there anymore spoofing tactics online thefts are using?
Yes, check it out below:
Types Of Spoofing Online
Website Spoofing - Website spoofing is when someone copies a trusted website and makes it look dangerous. They do this by using the same fonts, colors, and logos as the original website. But they change the website address so it's different. People might think it's real at first, but it's really made to get their personal information.
CALLER ID Spams - Caller ID spoofing is when someone uses false information to change the caller ID. This makes it impossible to block the number, so many scammers use Caller ID spoofing to hide their identity. Sometimes, these scammers will use your area code to make it seem like the call is local.
Most Caller ID spoofing happens using a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) that lets scammers create a phone number and caller ID name of their choice.
Email - Some people send emails that look like they're from someone you know, but they're not. The email might have a virus in it, or the person might try to get your money or steal your information. To tell if an email is really from the person it says it's from, look at the "from" field. It might say something like "from: coworker@company.com", but if you hover over the name, you'll be able to see the real email address that it came from.
Text Messaging - Text message spoofing is when someone sends a text or SMS message with another person's phone number. This is done so the scammer can hide their identity. They might also include links to malware downloads or phishing sites.
DNS Server - Cache poisoning is used to reroute traffic to different IP addresses. This will lead visitors to malicious websites. This is done by replacing the IP addresses stored in the DNS server with the ones that the scammer wants to use.
MitM - Man-in-the-middle attacks happen when a scammer hacks a WiFi network or creates a fake WiFi network to intercept web traffic between two people. This way, the scammer can get sensitive information, like login passwords or credit card numbers.
File Extension Spoofing - Scammers can use extension by renaming a file to make it look like a text document, but when you open it, the file contains malware.
