
You can also hover your mouse pointer over a link in the email to verify that the link is directed to the same site that the email came from. Always double check to make sure that the site address is accurate. Uses an incorrect URL - If you are used to going to your bank via a regular address and the address of the site you land at is not the same name, you can be confident that you are not at the real site.The next time you are not completely confident that you are on a legitimate website or that an email you received is valid, check for these signs: The good news is that you can avoid scams by looking for telltale signs that indicate when a site is fake or an email is phishy. Creating fake sites is called typosquatting, and like most cyber tricks it's designed to get your information and your money. Mistyping a webpage address can lead you to these fake sites, an occurrence that's not uncommon for people who regularly surf the Internet. It may ask not only for your name and address, but also your account number, password, the last eight digits of your debit card number, and your ATM PIN.Īnother common phishing trick that hackers use is erecting fake sites at commonly misspelled addresses in the hope of catching unsuspecting web surfers. However, when you attempt to sign in to your account, the site asks for information that the real site never would. To the untrained eye, the fake site looks identical to the bank's real homepage because the scammer has copied files from the real site. The link may also take you to a fake bank website that asks you to enter your personal information. This keystroke logger then captures everything you type, including passwords. Once you click on the link, it launches a Trojan (a malicious program that appears to be benign) that installs a keystroke logger on your machine. In a phishing attempt, a cybercriminal may send you a message purportedly from your bank, asking you to confirm your account information by clicking on a link. Phishing is one of the most common scams on the web and cybercriminals are constantly modifying their attacks to include details that will make the recipient believe the scam is real. Phishing is a form of Internet fraud where a scammer, pretending to be a legitimate person or organization, sends you an email that tries to trick you into revealing personal or financial information, such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and passwords.
