Recognize and troubleshoot fake emails pretending to be you

Fake emails pretending to be you are known as spoofed emails. Email spoofing is when someone sends fake emails that look like they’re from you, by disguising the sender’s address, in an attempt to deceive the recipient for malicious reasons.

In order to recognize fake emails pretending to be you, use the indicators below:

1. Check the sender’s email address: Verify if the sender’s email address matches the company or individual it claims to be from. Often, fake emails will have slight variations or suspicious domains.

2. Inspect the email content: Look for generic greetings, spelling errors, and urgent or threatening language that demands immediate action. Legitimate companies usually don’t request sensitive information via email.

3. Analyze links and attachments: Hover over any links without clicking to see the URL. If it looks suspicious or doesn’t match the company’s official domain, it might be a phishing attempt. Never open attachments from unknown sources.

If you’ve determined there are fake emails pretending to being you, the solution is to implement SPF, DKIM and DMARC policies for your domain name.

SPF

SPF (Sender Policy Framework): An email authentication system that uses DNS to check if a mail server is authorized to send emails from your domain name.

Domain names connected to your hosting control panel and pointed to our network via the Skystra nameservers will automatically have SPF enabled. You do not need to do anything.

If you are using an external DNS and/or CDN provider (Cloudflare, etc.) – or an external email service, you will have to set up and manage your SPF record from your account at that provider. Go to: Manage SPF record

DKIM

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): A system to authenticate your email, ensuring it genuinely came from your domain and that email truly originates from you.

Domain names connected to your hosting control panel and pointed to our network via the Skystra nameservers will automatically have DKIM enabled. You do not need to do anything.

If you are using an external DNS and/or CDN provider (Cloudflare, etc.) – or an external email service, you will have to set up and manage your DKIM record from your account at that provider. Go to: Manage DKIM record

DMARC

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): A system that helps protect your domain name from being used for phishing or spam.

Domain names connected to your hosting control panel and pointed to our network via the Skystra nameservers will automatically have DMARC enabled. You do not need to do anything.

If you are using an external DNS and/or CDN provider (Cloudflare, etc.) – or an external email service, you will have to set up and manage your DMARC record from your account at that provider. Go to: Manage DMARC record