How to check if a website is legit or a copycat
INDIANAPOLIS – Scammers are working overtime to trick you into browsing bogus websites that can compromise your personal information or online security.
Copycat websites have become a very popular way for online crooks to either trick consumers out of money or get access to sensitive information; and scammers have gotten really good at making their bogus websites look real.
Scammers’ most common strategy is to make you think you’re on a real website like Amazon or a major retailer. The logos, layout and graphics can all look very genuine. However, if you start looking closely, the writers at Trend Micro say you can spot some telltale signs of a fake.
First, experts say you should check the URL. Misspellings, extra letters or weird combinations of words can indicate a site is fake.
For example, here’s the address for one bogus Amazon website: “amazon-exal.com.” The address to a copycat Dicks Sporting Goods website is “d-sportinggoods.com.” Neither site is legitimate and could infect your device with malware designed to steal your sensitive information.
When checking out a new website, look for “https://“ at the start of the URL. It’s not an airtight guarantee, but if you don’t see that, it should be a red flag.
There are also a couple of ways to check on a website to see how long it’s been around and what kind of reputation it has.
On the website whois, you can enter any web address and it will show you the date that a website was registered. So, if you think you’re checking out the Macy’s website, but you see the webpage was only registered in October of this year, that’s a good sign that you’re looking at a fake website that was just recently created. For example, the fake Amazon website above was just registered in 2022. The real Amazon website has been around since 1994.
The website scamadvisor has a feature where you can enter any web address and it will show you its reputation, or trust score. The trust score is based on several factors, like the site’s popularity, social media activity, reviews, security, and more.
It’s also a good idea to look for contact information on the website you’re checking out. If you don’t see any, that’s a bad sign.
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