Email authenticity is a crucial factor in combating phishing, spam, and other fraudulent activities. One of the best ways to verify if an email is legitimate is by analyzing the email headers. Email headers contain essential metadata that can help you trace the origin of the email, verify its sender, and confirm whether it has been tampered with. In this guide, we will walk you through how to check email authenticity using headers.

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What Are Email Headers?

Email headers are the technical details that come attached to every email. They include information such as the email's sender, recipient, subject, and more. Email headers also show the path that the email took from the sender’s server to the recipient’s inbox, revealing if it passed through any suspicious or unauthorized servers.

Why Checking Email Authenticity is Important

Cybercriminals frequently use email to carry out phishing scams or spoof the identity of trusted organizations. Without verifying an email's authenticity, you could be opening yourself up to significant risks such as identity theft, data breaches, or financial loss. Checking the email headers can help you spot suspicious emails and avoid interacting with fraudulent messages [1].

How to Check Email Authenticity Using Headers

Follow these steps to verify the authenticity of an email using its headers:

  • Step 1: Access the full email headers. In Gmail, click on the three dots and choose “Show original.” In Outlook, go to “File” > “Properties” and view the headers under “Internet headers.”
  • Step 2: Look for specific fields such as From, Received, Return-Path, and Authentication-Results. These fields help verify the origin of the email and whether it passed authentication checks like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
  • Step 3: Cross-check the domain of the sending server to ensure it matches the legitimate domain of the sender. You can also use tools like our email header checker to automatically break down the headers and verify their authenticity.

Key Email Header Fields to Look For

When analyzing an email's headers, pay attention to the following fields:

1. Received

The Received field shows the servers the email passed through. The first entry is typically the originating server. If this server doesn’t align with the email’s claimed sender, the email may be spoofed.

2. Authentication-Results

This field indicates whether the email passed SPF, DKIM, or DMARC checks. Emails that fail these checks are likely fraudulent and should be treated with caution.

3. Return-Path

This field indicates where bounced emails are sent. If the Return-Path domain differs from the sender’s domain, it may be a sign of spoofing.

4. Message-ID

The Message-ID field contains a unique identifier for the email. If this field looks unusual or doesn’t match the expected format, the email could be fraudulent.

Conclusion

Checking the authenticity of an email by analyzing its headers is an effective way to protect yourself from email fraud. By understanding the key fields in an email header and using tools like emailheaderanalyzer.com, you can verify the legitimacy of an email before taking any action.