Assignment 1: E-mail Forensics

In a general sense, forensics involves the investigation and documentation of a given crime to provide evidence that is typically used for legal action. E-mail is extensively used in personal and business operations to communicate with individuals in a fast and cost-effective manner. However, more frequently than not, e-mail is used as a platform for fraud, deceit, crime, identity theft, or even information phishing.

Tasks:

• What are some examples of e-mail scams (for example, Nigerian scams, false credit or account alerts, and dating scams)? What is the purpose of such an e-mail attack?
• What is the relevance of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in e-mail forensics?
• What challenges arise when attempting to identify the source of a given e-mail message?
• Support your statements with appropriate examples and scholarly references.

Submission Details:

By Week 4, Day 3, in a minimum of 250 words, post your response to the Discussion Area. Through Week 4, Day 7, review and comment on at least two of your classmates’ responses. Consider the following in your response:

• Provide a statement of clarification or a point of view with rationale.
• Challenge a point of discussion or draw a relationship between one or more points of the discussion.

Discussion Grading Criteria and Rubric

All discussion assignments in this course will be graded using a rubric. This assignment is worth 40 points. Download the discussion rubric and carefully read it to understand the expectations.