How to Spot Fake Websites

Everyone uses the internet for all kinds of different things, from shopping to booking events to researching information and even to running a business, and although you might be used to it and think there’s nothing to worry about, that’s part of the problem.

It’s true that most of the time the internet is a safe place to be, but sometimes you’ll come across problems that can lead to loss of money or other sensitive information, and you might even end up with your identity stolen, which is stressful, to say the least. The first things you might think of in that regard are phishing emails or dangerous links, but what about the websites you’re visiting? Not all websites are safe and some are fake, set up to deliberately steal information, and it’s wise to know how to spot those fake websites so you don’t get caught out. With that in mind, keep reading to learn more. 
Check The URLOne of the first things to do when it comes to spotting a fake website is to check the URL because that can be full of clues and it can save you a lot of future problems. Legitimate websites usually have quite straightforward domain names that you’ll probably recognize, or at least be able to read, but fake websites might be more difficult and have spelling errors in them, extra characters, or strange domain extensions. 

These are all put in deliberately to confuse people - they’ll be close enough to the real thing to look fine at first glance, and it’s only when you take a moment to look more closely that you’ll be able to spot the problem, so it’s a good idea to make that a habit before you click any link. It might be that your computer automatically blocks anything strange, and that’s helpful, although it’s not always correct, so it’s worth knowing about your connection to this site is not secure how to fix so you can get to real sites that your computer thought were dangerous. 
Look For Secure Connections Secure websites always encrypt their data to protect sensitive information from hackers, so take a look for the padlock symbol next to the URL in the address bar - if it’s there, that’s a good sign. As well as this, legitimate websites use ‘https’ in their URLs, and the S stands for secure. 

If you’re about to go to a site and it doesn’t have these things in place, it might be a scam one, and it’s best to stay away altogether, or at least click through with caution, being aware that there might be a problem. 
Look At The DesignIf you find yourself on a website and something just doesn’t seem right, or you want to make sure you’re on a safe site before you input any information, for example, then look at the website’s design. Fake sites will generally have bad or amateur designs and plenty of inconsistencies when it comes to layout etc. That’s because scammers don’t want to have to pay a lot of money to make their site look good since it won’t be around long anyway - it’s just there to snare as many unsuspecting visitors as possible in a short space of time. 

That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to the overall appearance of the site, and if you see things like blurry images, mismatched colors, bad grammar and spelling, and so on, you should turn back. Legitimate businesses will want their websites to look as good as possible, so they’ll invest money in getting it right, unlike a scammer. 
Verify The Contact InformationReal websites that want to attract visitors for positive reasons will usually give you plenty of options when it comes to how to contact them - and that information will be clear and easy to find. You’ll probably see an address (although online businesses might not provide one), a phone number, an email address, and so on. 

When you find this information on a site, you can verify it to make sure you’re really on the site you want to visit and not a scammer trying to fool you. It’s a simple thing to do - just cross-reference the information with other sources you can find online, and if it all matches up, then it’s likely to be a legitimate site. If you can’t find any contact information or if it doesn’t match the real, verified information, it’s best to be skeptical and assume it’s a fake website. 
Check The Payment ProcessBefore you pay for anything on a website, take a look at the payment process and see if there are security measures in place. Real websites will use encrypted payment gateways and they’ll offer multiple secure options for you (like credit cards and Paypal, for example). 

If that’s not the case, and especially if the site wants you to pay using unusual methods (such as sending banking information via email, for example), there’s a problem and it would be a mistake to part with any money or sensitive information. 

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