ThinkCritical.eu · Manipulation atlas
Scams and data theftSpoofed sender
A message, call or profile poses as a bank, authority, company or someone close to you. Names, numbers and logos can all be faked.
The name on the display, the sender’s address and the profile photo can all be faked – faking a phone number is called spoofing. So you can’t tell who is really calling or writing just from what you see on the screen.
Your bank’s number shows on the display: “Good afternoon, this is the security department. We’ve noticed a suspicious payment. You can see it’s our number on your screen.”
How to spot it
- An unexpected contact “from the bank”, “from the police”, from a courier, or from a loved one on a new number.
- A vague signature (“your courier”, “security department”) or a sender address that doesn’t match the official website.
- Reassurance that you can “see” the number or name – that proves nothing.
- The contact leads to money, personal details or installing an app.
How to check and what to do
- Hang up and call a number you know yourself – your bank on the number on the back of your card, a loved one on their saved contact.
- In an email, read the sender’s full address, not just the display name.
- For a social media account, look for a link to it on the official website of the company or organisation.
- If a loved one writes “from a new number”, ask for your family code word or something only they would know.
Tip: What matters is who calls whom: when you dial a number you know, you know who you’re talking to.
Full explanation and exercises:
thinkcritical.eu/en/manipulation-atlas/fake-sender