In plain English
This phrase refers to a fake communication that is made to look as if it came from another person or organisation. The false identity is used to mislead the person who receives it.
In context
Here, it names the suspected tactic in the message where the sender appears to be another person or organisation in order to mislead the recipient.
- Situation
- Responding to phishing, suspicious activity, fraud, and compromise alerts
- What it communicates
- names the suspected deception tactic in the message.
Meaning limits
The term alone does not show whether the claimed identity was believed or what effect the message had.
Examples
“An impersonation attempt landed in her inbox, appearing to come from the town office.”
“Supervisors treated the note as an impersonation attempt because it appeared to come from the club treasurer.”