How to identify fake websites and scams.

There are many websites which are designed specifically to gain access to people’s private and confidential information. These websites can be created by anyone with enough knowledge on Website Design. Internet scams are very common in the 21st century.

Below I will explain how to identify fake websites and scams:

To the inexperienced person, all websites look legitimate and so it is hard to tell whether it is safe to input private information e.g. when purchasing online products or not safe. If you are not sure or have any doubts whether the website can be trusted then STOP!!! And take your time to investigate further into the website. People who design such websites to gain access to data and scam people are known as “phishers”.

Websites like “Gamasec” are created to help people make sure their website is secure. To check other websites are secure more information can be provided on government websites such as “http://www.fakechecks.org” which is created by the National Consumers League (NCL).

When logging onto websites such as hotmail or any other server, always look out for “https” which will be on the URL bar on the top of the screen. For example when logging into yahoo mail it will be displayed as “https://login.yahoo.com/config/login_verify2

In addition to this, when logging into a server or buying online items, look out for the “padlock” sign which will be on the bottom right of the website page. The image below shows both the “https” information and the “padlock” sign.

Website

Ref:http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/protect/images/online/74349_https_F.jpg

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