What does email spoofing aim to achieve?

What does email spoofing aim to achieve?

• A. To intercept and read the contents of emails.
• B. To dupe the recipient into thinking the email originated from someone or somewhere other than the intended source.
• C. To block delivery of emails.
• D. To trace the sender's location.

Answer: (B)

Email spoofing is about impersonation: it forges the visible sender information so the message looks like it came from someone else. The aim is to deceive the recipient into trusting the email and acting as if it really came from a trusted source, which is why phishing and credential theft are common uses. It’s not primarily about reading the email content, blocking delivery, or tracing the sender’s location—those are different attack goals like interception, denial, or tracking. An example is a message that appears to come from your bank asking you to enter credentials or click a link, even though it didn’t originate there.

Email spoofing is about impersonation: it forges the visible sender information so the message looks like it came from someone else. The aim is to deceive the recipient into trusting the email and acting as if it really came from a trusted source, which is why phishing and credential theft are common uses. It’s not primarily about reading the email content, blocking delivery, or tracing the sender’s location—those are different attack goals like interception, denial, or tracking. An example is a message that appears to come from your bank asking you to enter credentials or click a link, even though it didn’t originate there.