Spoofing

Spoofing is when a scammer disguises their identity to appear as a trusted source, like your bank, a government agency, or even a contact in your phone. Their goal is to trick you into trusting them so you’ll share personal information or click malicious links.

They can spoof:
– Phone numbers (caller ID spoofing)
– Email addresses
– Text messages
– Websites (URL spoofing)

Spoofing can make fraud attempts look like they’re coming from the bank, even though they’re not.

Look for these red flags:

Caller ID Doesn’t Match Reality	You get a call from your bank, but something feels off
Email Display Name ≠ Actual Address	Hover over the name to reveal the real email
Links Look Wrong	Hover over them, do they match the bank’s real domain?
Asking for Personal Info	Your bank will never ask for PINs, full passwords, or SSNs
Poor Grammar or Formatting	These are often signs of a fake message or site
Too Urgent or Too Good to Be True	“You’ve won!” or “Immediate action required” = red flags

Protect Yourself from Spoofing

– Hang up and call your bank back using the number on your card or the website
– Type URLs manually into your browser, not from emails/texts
– Use multi-factor authentication for your accounts
– Bookmark your bank’s real website for quick, safe access
– Report suspicious messages to the bank