Email spoofing is the forgery of an email  header  so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. Email spoofing is a tactic used in phishing and spam campaigns because people are more likely to open an email when they think it has been sent by a legitimate source. The goal of email spoofing is to get recipients to open, and possibly even respond to, a solicitation.

Although most spoofed email falls into the nuisance category and requires little action other than deletion, the more malicious varieties can cause serious problems and pose security risks. For example, a spoofed email may purport to be from a well-known shopping website, asking the recipient to provide sensitive data such as a password or credit card number – DO NOT COMPLY. Or the spoofed email may ask the recipient to click on a link that installs malware on the recipient's computing device – DO NOT CLICK. One type of spear phishing used in business email compromises, involves spoofing emails from the CEO or CFO of a company who works with suppliers in foreign countries, requesting that wire transfers to the supplier be sent to a different payment location – DO NOT SEND.

To prevent becoming a victim of email spoofing, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission urge recipients to keep anti-malware software up to date, be wary of tactics and ALWAYS LOOK AT THE EMAIL TO MAKE SURE IT IS A VALID EMAIL USED BY THE PERSON YOU KNOW. When in doubt contact your friend/club member.