What are the differences between spoofing and phishing?

Spoofing is a technique used to falsify data, such as email addresses or phone numbers, to impersonate trusted sources. Phishing is a specific type of attack that can use spoofing to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, often through fraudulent emails or messages designed to steal credentials or financial data.

What happens when you are spoofed?

If your details are spoofed, attackers may impersonate you to deceive others, potentially leading to fraudulent activities carried out under your name. This form of identity theft is very hard to prevent but can result in long-term legal and reputational damage.

Not all forms of spoofing are illegal; it depends on the intent and context. Legal spoofing could include faking your location to view another streaming library, or arranging a holiday meet-up ahead of time via a dating app. However, these actions may violate platforms’ terms of service and could result in account suspension or termination.

How do you tell if your phone number is spoofed?

If your phone number is spoofed, you may notice strange calls from unknown numbers claiming to be you, or people reporting missed calls from your number without your involvement. Additionally, if your number appears in scam reports or call-blocking apps, it’s a sign your number may be misused in spoofing.

What is spoofing? How to protect yourself with 12 different examples

Please select your country/region

Argentina

Brasil

Canada (English)

Canada (Français)

Caribbean (English)

Caribe (Español)

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

Hispanoamérica

México

Panamá

Perú

Puerto Rico (English)

United States

Uruguay

Venezuela

België (Nederlands)

Belgique (Français)

Česko

Danmark

Deutschland

España

Estonia (English)

France

Iceland (English)

Ireland (English)

Israel (English)

Italia

Latvia (English)

Lithuania (English)

Luxembourg (Français)

Magyarország

Nederland

Norge

Österreich

Polska

Portugal

România

Schweiz (Deutsch)

Suisse (Français)

Svizzera (Italiano)

South Africa

Suomi

Sverige

Türkiye

United Arab Emirates (English)

United Kingdom

Ελλάδα

Россия

Australia

Cambodia (English)

Hong Kong (English)

香港

India (English)

Indonesia (English)

Malaysia (English)

New Zealand

Philippines (English)

Singapore (English)

Thailand (English)

Vietnam (English)

대한민국

中国

台灣

日本

Products

Services & Support

About

Norton is part of Gen – a global company with a family of trusted brands.

Copyright © 2025 Gen Digital Inc. All rights reserved. Gen trademarks or registered trademarks are property of Gen Digital Inc. or its affiliates. Firefox is a trademark of Mozilla Foundation. Android, Google Chrome, Google Play, and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google, LLC. Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple, and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Alexa and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Microsoft and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Gen Newsroom Partner with us Careers Legal Privacy Security Terms of Use Accessibility Services status Your privacy choices

Contents

Want more?

Contents

Related articles

Want more?