Did you know that fraudulent companies on the internet have been on the rise lately? Do that scams happen almost every second in some part of the world? All that is sometimes needed is to click on some suspicious link or leave your personal information on a site that you have not checked in detail.
Given that the internet is a place where “everyone has a voice” and the ability to be what they want, we are not surprised why cybercriminals have taken up so much space, promising get-rich-quick schemes that can easily deceive a large number of people.
It is self-evident that there are many scam sites in the virtual world and the only way to avoid them is to be able to recognize them. In this regard, we have prepared the three best ways to help you deal with potential fraudulent companies and scam sites.
#1 Observe the address bar and URL
The answer is often hidden in some seemingly ordinary things on the site itself, such as the address bar and URL. It should be your priority number one to check the address bar (URL) to check if the site itself is secured.
Check if there is an “s” in the URL, which looks like this “https://”, or if it has a lock symbol included in the address bar. If the site consists of both, it shows that it’s probably not a scam and that the owner of the website is using secured encryption processes to transfer data and protect itself from numerous hackers online.
#2 Check the social media presence of the company
If you want to make sure that you’re dealing with a legitimate company and website, it’s essential to check its social media presence. Keep in mind that a great majority of legitimate companies have some social media activity and presence.
For example, suppose you get to see the social media icons on their website. In that case, it’s essential that you know if they link to any social media channel and review all reviews about the companies. In addition to that, try finding actual employees of the company on a social media platform, Linkedin.
#3 Look up the domain name and age
Checking the domain name and its age is of great importance since it may reveal to you a lot about the site itself. It’s no secret that many cybercriminals tend to create very “similar” domain names to trick users into believing they’re on a legit site, like goOgle.com, for example.
Therefore, you must check the address bar and make sure that you won’t be redirected to a website that is not legitimate. Besides the name, age is also an important indicator. Verifying the age of one site will give you information on whether it’s an established business that has been around for a while or not.
The truth is, fake and scam websites usually have a short lifespan, and they’re shut down by those who are legitimate business site owners.
Conclusion
Although it is sometimes impossible to identify a fraudulent site, with the help of these sites, you will reduce the possibility of becoming another victim of cybercrime. Always be careful, do not click on various suspicious links, nor leave personal and bank data.
