Question 1

Q. Can someone spoof my email address without hacking my account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Spoofing needs no access to your account, website or server, because the attacker sends from their own server and only writes your address into the From line. That's why changing your password doesn't stop it, and why the fix lives in your domain's DNS records.

Question 2

Q. Does SPF stop email spoofing on its own?

Accepted Answer

No. SPF only checks the envelope sender, which an attacker can set to their own domain while keeping yours in the visible From address. You need DMARC to tie SPF and DKIM results to the From address, and that protection only applies at quarantine or reject.

Question 3

Q. Will setting DMARC to p=reject block my own emails?

Accepted Answer

It will if any of your legitimate senders fail SPF and DKIM alignment, which is why you start at p=none, read the reports, fix your own sending services, and only then enforce. Contact form notifications that use the visitor's address as From are the most common WordPress casualty, so fix those before you switch.

Question 4

Q. Is it my WordPress site sending the spoofed emails?

Accepted Answer

Check the headers first. A message with dkim=pass for your own domain was sent by a system holding your credentials, which points to a compromised account or site. If you use FluentSMTP with logging enabled, search the email log for that message too, because if it appears there, your site sent it.

Question 5

Q. Is email spoofing the same as phishing?

Accepted Answer

No, though they usually travel together. Spoofing is the technique of forging the sender address, and phishing is the scam of tricking someone into handing over money, passwords or data. Most phishing emails use some form of spoofing to look trustworthy.

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