The Complete Guide to Identify a Phishing Site in 2021
Worried that someone will steal your data?
Or just want to be aware about the increasing number of phishing sites?
Either way, give this one a read to know ’em all!
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Worried that someone will steal your data?
Or just want to be aware about the increasing number of phishing sites?
Either way, give this one a read to know ’em all!
Everything we do now requires some form of online connectivity or activity through the internet. Especially with COVID-19, how we do things has now changed drastically.
We keep in touch with friends and family, follow the news, meet new people, work, shop, pay bills all over the internet. This has resulted in us being more comfortable sharing sensitive information online.
Most of this sensitive data that we regularly share online includes our bank account information, our date of birth, facial images, and medical data, to name a few.
These are a few of the ways scammers use to gain access to a victim’s information. They are also constantly looking for multiple ways to access this information, most commonly done through phishing attacks.
Cybercrime has become a very effective tool for scammers looking to steal personal data and extort money. The speed, anonymity, and convenience of the internet and doing everything online have enabled scammers to launch highly targeted attacks with minimal effort.
Phishing continues to be one of the most common forms of cyber-attacks that scammers choose to use as it is simple and effective and has a high return on investment.
Scammers are infiltrating everything that we use online, including website links that may be embedded into an email body.
Phishing has evolved from how it used to be at the start, where many people were tricked into thinking that Nigerian princes were freely giving away their inheritance, as well as multiple people requesting financial support for emergency medical treatment.
The phishing attacks taking place today are far more sophisticated, targeted and are proving to be increasingly challenging to identify.
Since we rely on digital methods of accessing information in our day-to-day personal and professional lives, scammers have a new way of using phishing to their benefit.
It’s just not malicious emails that are now used to trick people into clicking on links or even sharing their sensitive information. Instead, scammers now create fake websites to trick victims into entering their sensitive data.
These websites almost look like the real deal, ensuring that customers won’t think twice about trusting them. The scammers make the site look as legitimate as possible, and they are almost exact copies of the actual website that has been copied.
Many resources can help you to identify if a website is legitimate and if it can be trusted. Here are a few points to keep in mind if you are unsure of the legitimacy of a website:
The first step is to hover the mouse over the URL of the website to check the validity of the website address. There should be a padlock symbol in the address bar to ensure its legitimacy, and the URL should begin with an ‘HTTPS://’ or ‘shttp://’ (the ‘s’ indicates that the website address has been encrypted and secured with an SSL certificate.) If the website does not have an ‘HTTPS, any data entered onto the site is not secured and could be intercepted by a third-party scammer.
Although the URL is a crucial aspect to consider before trusting a website, it is not foolproof. Scammers are now able to get SSL certificates for their phishing websites. Previously, while users could determine the safety of a website through this certificate, it is unfortunately no longer the case. So, users are advised to be extra cautious and look for further evidence that proves the website’s legitimacy.
The spelling of a website address is another essential aspect to check. Scammers can trick users into thinking they are using an official site and will try to use the spelling almost the same, with maybe a letter or two that may be different. The ending of a website address could even be changed from ‘.co.uk’ to ‘.org,’ for instance, so that users won’t suspect any significant change. Likewise, the letter O could be substituted with the number 0, or the website address may also contain extra symbols or characters that the official address will not contain.
Websites usually have a lot of work put into their creation. The graphics will be sharp, the wording will be perfect, and it will have a look of being polished. However, on a phishing website, despite how similar it may be to the original website, it may all seem sub-standard and may give you an initial doubt of it being a little different.
Spelling mistakes, incorrect grammar, or even low-resolution images should be your first red flags that the website you’re on may not be legitimate, and you should leave the site immediately.
Phishing websites usually may not have a ‘contact us page or section, whereas official websites will always have this section. An official website will sometimes have a full-page providing the company details. This could include the company’s postal address, telephone number, email address, or social media channels. Any website not providing these details should be another red flag for you to leave this site immediately.
All website domains have to register their website, so it’s worth doing a quick search on WHOIS to check who owns the website you’re on. This is an excellent way to do an initial search, know when the website was created, and give you the site owner’s contact details.
Be aware that the website has only been active for less than a year. If you’re on a website of a leading brand, the web address should also be registered to the brand itself. If it is registered to an individual in a country that the brand is not from, this could be a definite red flag to watch out for.
There’s no harm in doing a bit of your research on the company to check if they are legitimate and who they claim to be. There is a high chance of online reviews from other victims if the site has defrauded people in the past. If your research shows a lot of negative customer reviews, then this could be a good indication to stay away from the site in question.
Legitimate websites will allow credit card payments or may even use portals such as PayPal for online payments. However, if the only payment option provided on this website is through a bank transfer, this is a clear red flag that this is a phishing website. Reputable sites will never ask their customers to pay using bank transfers. This shows that a bank has not given this company a credit card payment facility, and it is very likely to be a scammer at the other end of this site.
Since these phishing attacks are getting harder to spot, there are simple precautions that you can take from now on to avoid these scam attempts:
· If you don’t recognize a URL, don’t click on it.
· Don’t click links from unrecognized email addresses/accounts.
· Test dodgy URLs into a URL-checking website like CheckShortURL.
· Contact the legit organization or entity the URL claims to be from.
· Never click a link with a typo or a misspelled word.
· Make sure your computer/browser software is up to date.
· Make sure you have up-to-date antivirus software installed.
· Vary your passwords and login details.
There are many ways in which scammers lure in victims to obtain their personal information. After reading this guide, when it comes to using websites, we hope you’ll be more cautious when using these online platforms for your personal and professional use. We also hope that you’ll know exactly what to look for when deciding if you should click on a link for a website that you’ve come across.