Businesses large and small are recommended to implement email authentication on their domains. This authentication enables businesses to tell receivers of email who and what is able to send using their domain name. Setting up email authentication can be daunting especially with the alphabet soup of acronyms for setup. However at it's core, it is not complicated and most everyone can understand it. Without email authentication, scammers can use your domain name to send emails that look like they’re from your business. To foil their efforts, make sure your email provider uses these authentication tools.

Email Authentication consists of 3 required configurations, Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), Domain Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC), plus an option configuration, Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI).

It can take some know-how to get SPF, DKIM, and DMARC up and running so they work as intended and don’t block legitimate emails. If you’re not sure you have the expertise, have your email hosting provider set them up. If they balk – or if they don’t include those fundamental protection tools in their service agreement – consider taking your business elsewhere.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR EMAIL IS SPOOFED

If your email authentication tools are operating on all cylinders, you’ll get a notice if someone spoofs your email. Here’s how to respond:

Report the scam.  Contact local law enforcement, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov, and the FTC at FTC.gov/Complaint. Forward phishing emails to spam@uce.gov, an address used by the FTC, and to reportphishing@apwg.org, an address used by the Anti-Phishing Working Group, which includes ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies.

Notify your customers.  Contact them ASAP by mail, email, or social media. (If you email them, don’t include hyperlinks. You wouldn’t want your notification message to look like another phishing attempt.) Remind customers not to share personal information through email or text. If their data was stolen, direct them to IdentityTheft.gov.

Alert your staff.  Use the experience to update your security practices and train your staff about cyber threats. Distribute the FTC’s fact sheet on email authentication. Show this video at your next staff meeting for tips on how to respond if your email is spoofed. And here’s another video that takes a deeper dive into the technology behind email authentication.