Fake websites, or phishing websites as they are also known, are designed look like legitimate websites in an attempt to trick users into giving up sensitive information or downloading malware onto their system. These are some examples of commonly faked types of websites and how they can be spotted:
- Fake Banking Sites: Phishing emails may direct a user to a fake website that looks similar to their banking institution’s login page, where it will ask for their credentials. These fake websites may have subtle differences in the URL, such as a misspelling or an extra letter, or may have a slightly different design or logo to the real banking site.
- Fake E-Commerce Sites: Phishing websites may also pose as legitimate vendors such as Amazon or Walmart, and coax users into providing payment details or other sensitive data. These websites may use similar techniques as above, where the website may look similar to the real thing but may contain small differences in the URL or a lack of an SSL certificate. It is also important to ensure any website where sensitive data is entered is at least using HTTPS as well.
- Fake Login Pages: Cybercriminals may also target login pages for popular online service providers such as social media sites, cloud storage solutions, or various e-mail services. These fake login pages may be sent as emails or instant messages that contain links that redirect to a fake website where users are prompted to input their username and password. As above, these fake logins may look almost identical to the real thing but may have slight noticeable differences in website design or URL.
It is important to note that phishing websites can be extremely convincing, therefore it is important to always be mindful when entering sensitive information into a website. Always double-check URLs and keep an eye out for subtle differences before entering personal data into a website.