The Danger of Spoofed Websites: Learn to Tell the Difference

Best known as ‘website spoofing’, this malicious trick involves creating a duplicate version of a website that appears to be the original. Once you’ve been fooled into thinking that you’re on the genuine webpage, hackers have accomplished winning your trust and can now gain access to any private information you submit to the fake page. This scam can be incredibly effective and is commonly used to obtain bank accounts or other financial information illegally.

To begin protecting yourself from the start, consider using dfndr security, which offers an anti-hacking feature for your Android device. With the dfndr security anti-hacking feature on, malicious sites are blocked even before you have a chance to click on a link in an email or SMS.

Website Spoofing is Pretty Scary
Website spoofing is a conventional component in the criminal scam of phishing. Hackers have been creating lookalike sites since hacking was born, yet the alarm here is their methods are getting more sophisticated, so the average person can’t tell the difference between a legitimate site or a phony one. This is why educating yourself is one step away from getting hacked.

Read More: Phishing Attacks Can Be Stealthier Than You Think

The latest website spoofing trick is a technique known as a cloaked URL. By utilizing technical loopholes, a hacker can make a link in your address bar look completely genuine. Here are few things to look out for when attempting to avoid spoofed websites:

• • Double check the address bar. Many spoofers will utilize a slight typo in the web address that they hope you won’t notice. Instead of visiting ‘Money.com,’ you may indeed be visiting ‘M0ney.com.’
  • Verify the email address. Received a suspicious email? Tap on the name in the ‘to’ field to reveal the originating email address. The email may not be from who you’d expect. So it’s easy to conclude the web link may not be genuine either.
  • Keep your browser updated. Some ploys, such as the cloaked URL scam that we already spoke of is being addressed by browser manufacturers. Update your software to help fight phishing and blot out cloaked URLs.
  • Watch the language used. Not bad language, we mean pay attention to the information provided. If some of your private details seem spot on, but the rest is vague  – that’s a red flag. Watch out for emails that don’t address you by name, but instead use a generic greeting. Even spoofed websites can be full of general information that’s not specific enough – look out for that too.

Stay Safe by Staying Aware
Website spoofing is an issue that we all need to remain aware of when browsing the web. If you receive an email from your bank or other financial institution, be sure to read the link carefully before clicking on it. Even better, don’t click the link at all, but instead manually type the address into a new tab of your web browser and compare. If you’re 100% positive what lays beyond is safe, only then should you click a mouse or tap a finger to proceed.