Tip of the month: Spotting A Spoof Email

You may receive a seemingly innocuous email asking you for information from a known supplier or customer, it may even become a back-and-forth email exchange… with harmless information being exchanged,

This is to build trust and familiarity, before requesting confidential information.

Any email asking to change bank details or make a payment – should always be verified by speaking to someone you know.

But before divulging any information it is always prudent to scrutinise the emails authenticity.

Check that the display name matches senders email address when you hover your mouse over it – pay close attention to the spelling of the email address as the spoofers may change one letter such as swapping a “g” for a “q” in an email address.

John from GM Supplies (johndoe@gmsupplies.com) has requested you make the payment to their new bank:

Example 1:

“John Doe” < johndoe@gmsupplies.com >

Example 2:

“John Doe” < johndoe@qmsupplies.com >

Example 1 is not spoofed but in example 2 the G in gmsupplies has been swapped for a Q.

Often spoof emails will use bad grammar or terms of reference which is different from your usual communication with the sender.

Before clicking on hyperlinks hover your mouse over it and if the address shown is not what you expect from the link picture do not click it.

If you are unsure of any email request please contact the mooncomputers support desk to allow one of our engineers to check the email authenticity.