M16 Marketing has become aware of an active email impersonation and fraud attempt targeting some of our clients.
An unauthorized party is sending emails while falsely representing themselves as Don Dodds and M16 Marketing. These communications have been designed to look professional and legitimate and, in some cases, attempt to solicit payment for website, support, optimization, or other services.
These communications are fraudulent and are not being sent or authorized by M16 Marketing.
Known Fraudulent Email Addresses
M16 has currently identified the following unauthorized Gmail accounts:
don.m16marketing.com@gmail.com
info.dondoddsm16marketing@
Neither of these email addresses is owned, operated, or authorized by Don Dodds or M16 Marketing.
Additional fraudulent email addresses or look-alike domains may be created. An email should not be considered legitimate simply because the sender address does not appear on this list.
What the Fraudulent Emails May Look Like
The fraudulent emails reported to M16 have been intentionally designed to appear professional and convincing.
They may include:
- Don Dodds’ name
- A photograph of Don Dodds
- The official M16 Marketing name and logo
- Photographs of M16 Marketing offices
- Images copied or scraped from the M16 Marketing website
- Images obtained from search engines, social media, or other public websites
- Accurate M16 Marketing website information
- Professional-looking email signatures
- References to actual M16 Marketing services
- Claims about website problems or optimization issues
- Deadlines intended to create urgency
- Requests to approve or proceed with services
- Invoices or payment requests
Our logo, photographs, office images, employee information, website content, and other publicly available materials can be copied from the internet and inserted into a fraudulent communication. Their presence does not authenticate the sender.
A message can look highly professional, contain accurate information about M16, and still be fraudulent.
How to Verify Legitimate M16 Communication
Official M16 Marketing business email is sent from email addresses ending in:
M16 Marketing does not use Gmail accounts to send official client communications, invoices, or payment requests.
However, the email address displayed in the “From” field should not be considered proof by itself that a message is legitimate. Email sender information can be spoofed, and criminals can also create domains or email addresses that closely resemble legitimate companies.
When reviewing a message, pay close attention to:
- The complete sender email address
- The Reply-To address
- Misspellings or extra words in the domain
- Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or other free email accounts claiming to represent M16
- Unexpected requests involving money
- Changes to normal payment procedures
- Unusual urgency or deadlines
- Requests for passwords or account access
Be Especially Cautious With Financial Requests
If you receive an unexpected communication claiming to be from M16 Marketing or Don Dodds involving any of the following, do not act on the email alone:
- An invoice or payment request
- A request to send funds
- A change in payment instructions
- Banking or credit card information
- Website or technical support charges
- An unexpected request to authorize additional services
- Passwords or verification codes
- Website administrator credentials
- Hosting credentials
- Google account access
- Domain or DNS access
- Access to other business systems
Independently verify the request with your established M16 Marketing contact before taking action.
Use contact information you already have or visit the official M16 Marketing website directly at m16marketing.com.
Do not rely solely on a telephone number, email address, payment link, or other contact information provided within a suspicious message.
If You Receive a Suspicious Email
If you receive a communication that you believe may be fraudulent:
- Do not reply.
- Do not click links.
- Do not download or open attachments.
- Do not send payment or financial information.
- Do not provide passwords, verification codes, or account credentials.
- Report the message as phishing through your email provider.
- Preserve the original email rather than deleting it. The original message and its technical headers may be useful in documenting and investigating the activity.
- Send the suspicious communication to your established M16 contact so we can document the incident.
If You Have Already Responded or Sent Payment
If you have interacted with one of these fraudulent communications, take action immediately.
If you sent money or provided financial information
Contact your bank, credit card company, or payment provider immediately and explain that the transaction may have resulted from fraud or impersonation.
If you provided a password or account credential
Change the affected password immediately.
Do not reuse the compromised password.
Enable multifactor authentication where available and notify your organization’s IT or security team.
If you clicked a link or opened an attachment
Contact your organization’s IT or security team so the affected device and accounts can be evaluated.
If the communication involved M16 Marketing
Contact us directly so we can document the incident and help determine the appropriate next steps.
What M16 Marketing Is Doing
M16 Marketing is actively documenting these impersonation attempts and reporting fraudulent accounts and related activity to the appropriate service providers and authorities.
We are also notifying clients so they can recognize these communications before taking action.
Fraudulent actors can copy publicly available branding, photography, employee information, website content, and other company materials. They may also create new email addresses, look-alike domains, or spoofed sender information.
For that reason, verification is the most important protection.
The Most Important Rule
M16 Marketing will not ask you to send money, change payment instructions, provide sensitive credentials, or authorize unexpected services based solely on an unsolicited email.
If something does not look right, or if a request is unexpected, contact us directly before taking action.
Your trust matters to us, and we want to make sure you have the information you need to recognize and avoid these fraudulent communications.
Don Dodds
Founder & CEO
M16 Marketing
m16marketing.com
