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How To Determine a Fake Website

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There are a lot of scammers out there, and one of the things they do is create fake websites to try to trick you into giving them personal information. Here are some ways that you can determine if a website is fake or not:

How Did I Get Here?

Ask yourself how you got to the site. Did you click a link in an email? Email is the most effective ways scammers direct their victims to fake sites. Same thing goes with links from social media sites, Danger Will Robinson! Don’t click these links. Instead, go to websites via a search through Google or use your bookmarks, or go old school and type it in.

Are There Grammar or Spelling Issues?

Many fake sites are created by foreign entities using “scammer grammar”. So their English is usually broken, and they often make grammar and spelling mistakes. And when they use a translating software, it may not translate two vs too or their vs there etc.

Are There Endorsements?

Endorsements are often seen as safe, but just because you see them on a site doesn’t mean they are real. A fake website might say that the product was featured by multiple news outlets, for instance, but that doesn’t mean it really was. The same goes for trust or authenticating badges. Click on these badges. Most valid ones lead to a legitimate site explaining what the badge means.

Look at the Website Address

A common scam is to come up with a relatively similar website URL to legitimate sites. Ths also known as typosquatting or cybersquatting. For instance, you might want to shop at https://www.Coach.com for a new purse. That is the real site for Coach purses. However, a scammer might create a website like //www.C0ach.com, or //www.coachpurse.com.  Both of these are fake. Also, look for secure sites that have HTTPS, not HTTP. You can also go to Google and search “is www.C0ach.com legit”, which may pull up sites debunking the legitimacy of the URL.

Can You Buy With a Credit Card? 

Most valid websites take credit cards. Credit cards give you some protection, too. If they don’t take plastic, and only want a check, or a wire transfer, be suspect, or really don’t bother.

Are the Prices Amazing?

Is it too good to be true? If the cost of the items on a particular page seem much lower than you have found elsewhere, it’s probably a scam. For instance, if you are still looking for a Coach purse and find the one you want for $100 less than you have seen on other valid sites, you probably shouldn’t buy it.

Check Consumer Reviews

Finally, check out consumer reviews. Also, take a look at the Better Business Bureau listing for the company. The BBB has a scam tracker, too, that you can use if you think something seems amiss. Also, consider options like SiteJabber.com, which is a site that collects online reviews for websites. Just keep in mind that some reviews might be fake, so you really have to take a broad view when determining if a site is legit or one to quit.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

7 Ways to Tell If It’s a Fake

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Unfortunately in today’s world, scammers are coming at us from all angles to try and trick us to get us to part with our hard earned money. We all need to be vigilant in protecting ourselves online. If you aren’t paying attention—even if you know what to look for—they can get you.

9DThere are numerous ways to detect fake sites or emails, phishing, etc. Here are 10 you should know about:

  1. Incorrect URL. Hackers use fake sites to steal your information. Watch to make sure the URL is actually the one you want to be going to— if you notice the URL is different, that’s a good indication that the site is fake and you should NOT enter your information. There’s a number of ways you can protect yourself from this:
    1. If you’re on a computer, hover your mouse over the link to see a preview of the link URL in the status bar. Then check to see if the link site matches the site that it should be from. So for example if your email comes from North Bank or you type in North Bank into the Google search bar and the link is not going to www.northbank.com but something like www.banking-north.com you should not click.
    2. If you’re on a mobile device, use a link preview to see the actual URL before you click.
    3. You can also use McAfee® SiteAdvisor® on both your computer and mobile device to make sure the links you are going to are not bad links.
  2. Nosy Requests. Your bank won’t ask via email for your PINs or card information. Be suspicious of sites (or emails) requesting your Social Security number, identification number or other sensitive information.
  3. Sender’s Email Address. You can also check who sent the email by looking at the send address. It may say it’s from North Bank, but the email may be something strange like northbank@hotmail.com. The sender’s email should not be using a public Internet account like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.
  4. Your Name. A legitimate email from your bank or business will address you by name rather than as “Valued Customer” (or something similar).
  5. Typos. Misspellings or grammatical errors are another sure sign that the message or site is fake.
  6. Fake Password. If you’re at a fake site and type in a phony password, a fake site is likely to accept it.
  7. Low Resolution Images. A tip-off to a false site is poor image quality of the company’s logo or other graphics.

Additionally…Hit delete. How about just hitting the delete button whenever an email comes to you from an unfamiliar sender? After all, if any legitimate entity needs to contact you about something urgent or crucial, they would have your phone number, right? They know your name, too. Remember, “just say no” to opening unfamiliar or suspicious looking emails.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.