Ever heard of typosquatting? Here is some valuable information that can prevent identity theft …..
Typosquatting is a term that refers to the development of malicious websites with addresses that are so similar to a real website that you likely arrive there due to a typo when entering a legitimate Internet address. The website address is based on common typing errors like .cm where you may have omitted the ‘o’ in a .com address. If you accidently end up on one of these malicious sites, you may be at risk for identity theft. The .cm domain has recently been identified as the riskiest domain in the world because of this practice.
As stated in an article published by McAfee; “Cameroon, a small African country that borders Nigeria, jumped to the number one spot this year with 36.7 per cent of the .CM domain posing a security risk, but did not even make the list last year. Because the domain .CM is a common typo for .com, many cybercriminals set up fake typo-squatting sites that lead to malicious downloads, spyware, adware and other potentially unwanted programs.”
What can you do to protect yourself? Be careful when typing Internet addresses and veryify the address before entering your login information or downloading files. This also may be a good time to clean out your ‘favorites’ and bookmark the websites you frequent so you do not need to type the address each time and run the risk of a typo.