There you are, happily online shopping, you search on Google (or other browsers) for your favourite site, click in your search listings on what you think is the genuine site and voila! Up pops what looks to be the site you wish to utilise. Or is it?
Cyber-criminals are sweeping the internet with ‘Fake’ sites, they copy, very cleverly and in great detail, the site page, for example , of your bank or as in the exampled photo above, your antivirus site relying on the user to think that it is genuine and then ask for all kinds of personal details, that the true sites would never ask you for.
The example photo is a screenshot from a McAfee Fake site, this is particularly nasty one, where you think you are entering your antivirus code on the genuine site, they (the scammers) then pop up with the ‘Error’ message and ask you to phone them. Once hooked, not only will they have your antivirus code, the other common practice is asking you to allow remote access to your computer to fix the bogus error and will charge you for the privilege. You can only image the horrors of all the other things they could extract from you once they gain access.
Another thing to be aware of is ‘Typosquatting’ This is when a hacker creates a fake site using a web address that is commonly misspelled. When you mistype the address, you could land on one of these
How can I protect myself? Here a few things to keep in mind:
1.Keep up to date with the latest scams, good up to date information is a good key to keep safe.
2 Use common sense-don’t click on weblinks in emails, (Phishing) unless you are confident and trust where they are from.
3 Practice smart browsing- Make sure the website is secure before entering any information, if in any doubt try entering a fake password, as fake sites will accept anything.
- Use Technology to protect you- a good comprehensive security software can help protect. For example: The Norton 360 Range or the McAfee Range
- Be Vigilant both online & offline- Check your bank statements regularly, look for anything suspicious and also change your passwords frequently using strong passwords with things only known to you.