So just what is a phishing website and how can a person identify if the one they are looking at is one?
Often people will receive an email or instant message from someone who they do not know which then asks them to sign into a website. It is then that you must be careful before you click on anything as you may well have received a phishing email or instant message. It will then direct you to a phishing website.
These sites have been designed in order for them to steal details with regards to confidential information by getting you to believe that they are a legitimate site. Sometimes people have found themselves going to a phishing website without realizing it because they have typed in the wrong URL by mistake.
Unfortunately when it comes to making a decision as to whether a site is real or not it can be extremely difficult for most people. The simple fact is that a lot of these phishing websites have been designed so that they look like a genuine site. Often these sites will have what looks like the right logos and graphics that you will find on the site that you would expect to see.
One of the best ways of checking to see whether the site you are looking at is a phishing website or not is by looking at the following things in your web browser’s address bar. There are certain things which should hopefully help to tell you whether the site you have reached is genuine or not.
Look closely at the sites name in the address bar. In most what a phishing website will do is their address will be slightly different (but not much different) from the genuine one. If you look closely you will see that they have misspelled the company’s name or will have added an additional character or symbol before are after the name of the company.
Another good way of verifying if you suspect a site to be a phishing website is to see if they have omitted the forward slash from the websites address name. So say for example you are browsing using Yahoo. Then in order to verify that the site is a legitimate Yahoo site after the Yahoo.com a forward slash “/” should appear.
Also if you unsure as to what is a phishing website or what is not then look carefully at any pop ups that it may have. Certainly when you have been directed to a site and it immediately asks you to enter your name and password in to a pop up window then be wary. There are some scams where phishing is involved that they have been able to direct you to what is a legitimate site but then use a pop up in order to gain your personal information. So if you are unsure whether the site you have entered is a genuine one or not it is best if you provide them with incorrect information and it still allows you to sign in then in all likelihood you have been directed to a phishing website. So it is best if you close this down and report it immediately to your browser provider.
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