Cyber criminals, hackers, phishers and other ne’re-do-wells will never stop devising new ways to part honest citizens with their money. Bogus websites are another way these fraudsters are tricking people out of their hard-earned pay. These criminals create web pages for businesses that look perfectly legitimate. They offer incredible deals on expensive items. They even use the widely recognised Trusted Shop Trustmark. They are far from reputable, however. How can you tell the difference? There are a few clues to look for. The first one is, if it seems to good to be true, then it probably is.
Ways to Protect Yourself from Bogus Websites
- Run the company name through a search engine and examine the results. Check and see if anyone else is talking about them online. Do the words ‘fraud’ and ‘ripoff’ come up quite a lot? Find out why that is. Try to find a business address and phone number as well. Call the number if you’re still unsure.
- Consult the Trusted Shops Facebook page to see if there is any mention of the website you are suspicious of. Contact Trusted Shops on 0203 364 5906 or email them at emailservice@trustedshops.co.uk.
- Use your best judgement. Be wary. Never send cash or check. Use a credit card or Paypal to give yourself some protection.
- Verify the website is authentic by checking it against the lists available at https://who.is/. This site provides the name and address of website owners.
An example of a fraudulent website would be site which has advertised high-end merchandise well below market value. The site will offer to accept credit cards. When the user clicks to provide card information, the only payment option is to pay via bank transfer. The user may be assured as to the site’s legitimacy due to the fraudulent Trusted Shop Trustmark. Needless to say, providing funds to these fraudsters does not result in anexchange of goods.
AGT Computers can perform a full security audit of your business to make sure you and your network are safe from hackers, phishers and thieves. We can also offer solutions for all your security needs including antivirus, anti spam and malware protection. We would also be more than happy to provide you with a number of affordable solutions for all of your information technology needs. We not only provide full IT support, at AGT Computer Services we also provide cloud storage to businesses in the Blackpool, Lancashire, Lytham and Fylde area. We are a Microsoft Silver Partner for Small and Midmarket solutions and can work with you to meet all of your personal computer or company’s IT needs.
