Ex: The web address may also contain extra characters and symbols which official addresses will not contain.Ī lot of hard work and thought will go into the crafting of an official website. org, or the letter O could be substituted with the number 0. To trick users into thinking they are on an official site, the fraudsters will stick as closely as they can to the real address and make small changes to the spelling. You should also pay close attention to the spelling of a web address. Users are advised to be extra cautious and look for further evidence that the site is secure. Without HTTPS, any data passed on the site is insecure and could be intercepted by criminal third parties. However, this system is not totally foolproof, and within the last year, there has been a notable increase in the number of phishing sites using SSL certificates. You should look for a padlock symbol in the address bar and check that the URL begins with a ‘ or ‘s ‘S’ indicates the web address has been encrypted and secured with an SSL certificate. The first step is to hover your mouse over the URL and check the validity of the web address. To determine if the site you are on is legitimate, or a well-crafted fake, you should take the following steps: The criminals will spend a lot of time making the site seem as credible as possible and many sites will appear almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Phishing websites are created to dupe unsuspecting users into thinking they are on a legitimate site. Another common tactic used by criminals involves the creation of fake websites to trick victims into entering sensitive information.
A study conducted by Intel found that 97% of security experts fail at identifying phishing emails from genuine emails.īut it’s not just malicious emails that are used to trick people into clicking on links or divulging sensitive information. The phishing attacks taking place today are sophisticated and increasingly more difficult to spot.
Our growing reliance on the internet to conduct much of our day to day business has provided fraudsters with the perfect environment to launch targeted phishing attacks. Phishing continues to prove one of the most successful and effective ways for cybercriminals to defraud us and steal our personal and financial information.
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