Email impersonation is a cybersecurity attack where malicious actors pretend to be trusted individuals or organizations in email communications to deceive recipients. Unlike simple spam, impersonation attacks are highly targeted and sophisticated, designed to appear legitimate to trick recipients into taking actions that benefit the attacker—such as transferring funds, revealing sensitive information, or granting system access.
These attacks succeed by exploiting human trust rather than technical vulnerabilities, making them particularly dangerous in business environments where employees regularly handle sensitive information and financial transactions based on email instructions
Cybercriminals use various tactics to make their emails appear legitimate, such as:
While people sometimes confuse email impersonation and email spoofing, they have key differences:
Email Spoofing is when attackers fake an email’s sender address to make it look like it’s from a trusted source. These emails can be deceptive but often lack proper authentication, making them easier to detect with security measures.
Email Impersonation goes beyond spoofing. Attackers may register lookalike domains, hack legitimate accounts, or use social engineering tricks to convince recipients that the email is real, making the scam much harder to spot.
Cybercriminals pose as company executives, most commonly the CEO or CFO, to make urgent requests for wire transfers or gift card purchases.
Example: An employee in finance receives an email that appears to be from the CEO, requesting an urgent wire transfer to secure a confidential business deal.
Attackers impersonate trusted vendors or suppliers and request changes to payment information or send fraudulent invoices.
Example: The accounts payable department gets an email from a familiar supplier, stating their banking details have changed, requesting future payments to a new account.
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Criminals pretend to be lawyers or legal representatives handling confidential or urgent legal matters
Example: An email claims to be from the company’s legal firm, demanding immediate payment for a settlement or requiring sensitive company information for a legal filing.
Attackers pose as internal IT staff or service providers, requesting login credentials or urging employees to install malware.
Example: An email pretending to be from the IT department asks employees to verify their credentials through a link due to a security upgrade.
Cybercriminals pretend to be from human resources, asking employees for personal information or directing them to malicious websites disguised as HR portals.
Example: An email from “HR” tells employees to review updated benefits by clicking a link that leads to a fraudulent login page.
Read Blog: 3 Deepfake Impersonation Schemes Cybercriminals Love—and How RPost Stops Them
With technology advancing, cybercriminals are employing increasingly sophisticated tactics. Here are some emerging threats that individuals and businesses need to be aware of:
Look beyond the display name to examine the actual email address. Impersonation emails often use domains that look similar to legitimate ones but with subtle differences:
Be alert for:
Consider whether the request makes sense in context:
For any request involving sensitive information, credentials, or financial transactions:
RPost's RMail service provides multiple layers of protection against email impersonation, including:
