The emergence of technology is not limited to making everyday life easier. It also introduces illegal activities such as fraudulent websites.
Phishing websites are illegal Internet websites that are used to trick users into sharing their personal or financial information to be used for fraudulent activities.
Although the internet offers thousands of benefits, not everyone on the web operates with a noble cause. Among the useful ones are those designed to carry out criminal activities ranging from identity theft to financial fraud.
In this article we will try to protect our readers by showing you how to identify these websites.
This is how scam sites work
The purpose of scam sites is to get your personal information or financial information. Either way, they operate by providing misleading information or promising attractive rewards in return for financial services.
They work in ways that mislead users and are usually promoted to users via social media, emails, pop-ups, text messages and so on. SEOs are sometimes manipulated to ensure their websites appear at the top of web searches.
They use attractive bait to attract users’ attention and lure unsuspecting victims to websites. Website visitors are then forced to take actions that expose their personal information or devices. These websites then collect personal information and use it for various illegal purposes or to infect devices with malware.
Scammers manipulate their victims into believing that their website is trustworthy and valid. While some are deliberately designed to look like those used by corporations or government agencies, others are designed to have a profound impact on the emotions of users, thereby making them ignore their natural suspicious instincts.
How to find fraudulent sites
Emotional Language: If the site amplifies your emotions, especially if you feel a sense of urgency, fear, or optimism, you may need to challenge them.
Lack of identifying web pages: A valid website will always have an “About Us” page or a “Contact Us” page. If lost, it’s safest to leave the site.
Weird Grammar: Scammers are never careful, so watch out for grammatical errors, misspellings, or incorrect use of plural and singular words.
How to avoid scam sites
Always use a secure internet connection. When you visit a website that requires personal or financial information, the company name must follow the URL along with a locked padlock to indicate that the website is secure. If this is not available or your browser warns you that the site does not have a recent security certificate, then it is probably a fraud site.
Another sign of a secure website is when the “HTTP” URL starts with “S” in your browser. “S” means the site is secure. So if you only have “HTTP” it is a sign that you should be careful because all secure websites come with “HTTP”.
Do an internet search. When in doubt about a website, it’s a good idea to look it up online for background information. You can tell whether it is a scam site or not by what other people are saying about it.
Check the domain name. Most fraudulent websites usually take a domain name that looks or sounds similar to a legitimate one in an attempt to imitate what a legitimate website does. Addresses ending in “.net or .org” should be noted as this type of domain name is less common for online shopping sites. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can look up who registered the domain name on Whois.net.
Do not pay by bank transfer. If you believe the site is legit, it’s better to protect yourself by paying with a debit card. This is to protect you in the future should any problems arise. If you buy something that is fake or doesn’t exist, you have the right to ask for a refund if you paid by card. But there’s little or nothing you can do with referrals.