Researchers found 110 fake HSBC sites, 74 fake sites each for Barclays and Standard Chartered, 66 for Natwest and 22 for Lloyds. Some examples included hsbc-direct.com, barclaya.net, lloydstsbs.com, natwesti.com and standardcharterd.com.
By using domains disguised as legitimate websites, hackers often deceive customers into handing over login information or personal details. This technique is called cyber-squatting or domain squatting and it entails registering a domain name to gain monetary benefit from a trademark that belongs to someone else. The domains are often used to redirect the victim to various frauds including phishing email campaigns, pay-per-click ads and for-profit survey sites or more nefarious content such as ransomware or other forms of drive-by malware.
To avoid falling for a fake website, SC Magazine advises consumer to check for extra added letters in the domain, such as Gooogle.com; check for dashes in the domain name, such as Face-book.com; look out for “rn” disguised as an “m”, such as modem.com versus modern.com; check for reversed letters, such as Yuotube.com; a plural or singular form of the domain, such as Domaintool.com.
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