Prevent Fake Website: 3 Ways to Spot a Fake Website Instantly

Prevent Fake Website: Three ways to identify a safe website, a small mistake will prove costly

In today’s digital age, the use of websites for online shopping, banking and other services has increased rapidly.  But on the other hand just like the digital growth online scams are also increasing. About 1 in 3 Americans (30%) were scammed online last year, losing an average of $1,600 each. By generation, 38% of Baby Boomers, 32% of Gen X, 26% of Millennials, and 37% of Gen Z said they were scammed in the past year.

According to USA Today, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) recently shared its 2024 Global State of Scams Report. It revealed that scammers have stolen an incredible $1.03 trillion over the past year.

However, due to the increasing incidents of cyber crimes, it has become necessary that we use only secure websites. An insecure website can lead to theft of your personal and financial data, so it is important to know how to identify the security of a website. Let us tell you three ways…

1. Prevent Fake Website: Look for the HTTPS protocol

If the URL of a website begins with “https://”, it means that the website is secure. The “S” stands for “Secure”, which indicates that the site is secured with an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. Unsecured websites begin with “http://”, which should be avoided.

2. Prevent Fake Website: Look for the padlock symbol

A small lock appears to the left of the website URL in the browser’s address bar, indicating that the website is secure. If this lock is not visible or a warning message appears, the website may be unsafe.

3. Prevent Fake Website: Check the domain and details of the website

Many fake websites look similar to real sites but have slight variations on their domain name (e.g. amaz0n.com). Always check the website’s domain carefully and visit the “About Us” or “Contact” page to verify ownership and credibility.

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