SUNSET BEACH, N.C. (WECT) – The Sunset Beach Police Department is warning the community after a spoof email that appeared to be from the mayor was sent to a Planning Board applicant.
According to the department, email spoofing is a fraud tactic in which attackers forge the “from” address so an email seems to come from a trusted person or organization.
An example of a spoof email that was sent to an applicant, courtesy of the Sunset Beach Police Department(Sunset Beach Police Department)
“By manipulating the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) header, hackers bypass spam filters to deliver malware, steal credentials, or commit phishing attacks,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.
Police say common red flags include:
- A sender name that appears legitimate but with a misspelled email address or domain.
- An urgent or threatening tone demanding quick action.
- The presence of suspicious links or unexpected attachments.
To protect yourself, police say to verify unusual requests by another method, such as a phone call, and consider checking technical details like the email header and “Return-Path,” which can reveal the true sending address.
A pause to double-check, officials say, can prevent bigger problems.
