What Spoofing Is and How to Add Protection From It to Google Workspace (DMARC Record)

Quick and easy-to-follow guide for Google Workspace administrators

How to know if you are getting spoofed

You are getting spoofed if you:

Get bounce messages for emails that seem to be coming from your account.
Get a reply to a message you never sent.
Are told by people that they’re getting spam from you, but you haven’t sent them emails.
See an email in Spam that replaces your email address with “me.”

What is spoofing

To spoof is to send emails from a fake sending email address. You make the From email look as if it’s sent by someone else.
The idea is to trick people into thinking an email is coming from someone they trust, but it’s actually sent with malicious intent, like obtaining sensitive information or hacking someone’s account.
For example, someone may know that you’re going to email your client a payment request. Then they send a fake email to your customer, pretending to be coming from you, getting your customer to send the payment their way instead.

How to prevent spoofing with Google Workspace using DMARC

You can prevent spoofing of your domain thanks to DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting & Conformance).
DMARC allows you to choose what to do once an SPF or DKIM check has failed.
SPF/DKIM checks are automatically performed on all sent mail from your domain.
Spoofers can’t fake SPF and DKIM, so when the check fails, you’re usually dealing with spoofing.
Through DMARC, you get to say what happens to the spoofed message.
After adding a DMARC record, you periodically receive reports about messages that have passed and failed the DMARC policy checks.

Steps you must take before setting up DMARC

To use DMARC, you must already have SPF and DKIM records already added and working.
If you send emails from any non-Google mail services, you must make sure you configure your SPF and DKIM correctly to apply to such emails. Otherwise, they will be treated as illegitimate by DMARC may cause you issues.

How to set up DMARC step-by-step with images

Step 1

To set up DMARC, first, log in to your account at your DNS hosting provider. Then go to the section where you can update your records and start creating a new TXT record.

Here is a list of links to the most frequently used hosting providers’ pages that show you how to add records and contact support.

If you don’t see your hosting in the list, go to Google Search and look for “add txt record -your domain host’s name here-” (for example: add txt record siteground.com),

Then follow your domain host’s instructions on creating a TXT record. If you can’t find instructions or they’re not helpful, contact the hosting’s support team.

_________________________

The TXT Host name should be “_dmarc.yourdomain” – replace yourdomain with your domain. For example, for workspace123.com, the Host name is _dmarc.workspace123.com

Next, add the text “v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:youremailaddress@yourdomain”

v=DMARC1 means that this is a DMARC record.

p=reject means that any email that fails the checks will be rejected.

Alternatively, you can set p to none – this way, no action is taken, but you get notified when a message fails DMARC checks via the DMARC report. You can also set p to quarantine. This way, all affected emails will be marked as spam.

rua=mailto:youremailaddress@yourdomain – this specifies the email address which will receive the DMARC reports. Substitute youremailaddress@yourdomain with your actual email address.

After adding the DMARC TXT record, make sure to save it!

You can do more with DMARC, but the ideal record you aim to have at the end is the one above. You may like to start with p=none or p=quarantine at the beginning so that you don’t end up rejecting any legitimate emails.

Google has more info on DMARC records here https://support.google.com/a/answer/2466563. It may take up to 24 hours for the TXT record to start working.

Step 2

To confirm that you have added it correctly, go to https://toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/main/ and click Dig.

Step 3

Under Name, type _dmarc.yourdomain.com and click TXT.

You will see the record in the information field below.

Note that even if you see the record here, it may take time to start working – usually up to 24 hours.

If you don’t see it, it’s best to check with your hosting’s support team to ensure everything is all right.

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What Is Phishing and How to Prevent It With Google Workspace

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What is Spoofing and How to Prevent It With DMARC

Add an email authentication protocol to protect your domain from being spoofed.

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Incoming Emails Spoofing Your Domain

Protect users from emails pretending to be from your domain that lack SPF and DKIM authentication.

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Incoming Unauthenticated Emails

Protect users from any emails that lack SPF and DKIM authentication.

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Name Spoofing

Protect users from any emails where the email sender’s name is a name in your Google Workspace directory, but the email is not authenticated by your company’s domains or domain aliases.

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Similar Domains Spoofing

Protect users from any emails coming from domains that look visually similar to trusted domains.

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Groups Spoofing

Protect users from unauthenticated emails pretending to be from your domain that are sent to Groups.

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What Spoofing Is and How to Add Protection From It to Google Workspace (DMARC Record)

Quick and easy-to-follow guide for Google Workspace administrators

How to know if you are getting spoofed

What is spoofing

How to prevent spoofing with Google Workspace using DMARC

Steps you must take before setting up DMARC

How to set up DMARC step-by-step with images

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

That's all! You reached the end of the article. Continue to:

If you find this useful, share and help others!

What Is Phishing and How to Prevent It With Google Workspace

What is Spoofing and How to Prevent It With DMARC

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Incoming Emails Spoofing Your Domain

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Incoming Unauthenticated Emails

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Name Spoofing

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Similar Domains Spoofing

Anti-Spoofing: Add Protection From Groups Spoofing

Better Gmail and email marketing

Protect your data and maximize security

Process optimization and collaboration

Resources for website creators

Get the best out of Google Workspace

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Report An Issue With Workspace123

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