Fake websites

Fake websites are intended to trick visitors into believing they are a well known site by:

• using names that are almost the same
• copying the company logo
• copying the company colour scheme

The goals of fake websites include:

• Charging for a service that is free from the real website e.g.
• Charging for passport application forms
• Charging for driving licence forms
• Charging for European health cards
• Capturing users logons and passwords so that purchases can be made on their account e.g.
• Amazon
• PayPal
• Capturing personal details to use in identity fraud

Common routes to fake sites are:

• Google search results - websites can pay Google to come first in the results list, so a fake website pays to come before the real website
• fake emails - a fake email may pretend to be from your bank and urge you to take urgent action by confirming you details using the a link to the fake website

Avoiding fake websites

Most government departments, financial and utility companies e.g.:

• Banks
• Credit card componies
• Phone companies
• Inland Revenue

don't send alarming emails. They may send reminders and advertising by email, but for really important matters they still use post or phone you. If you need to check all is OK then phone them - don't follow the link on the email or reply to it without checking.

If you are searching for the website of a well known company or organisation, try looking in Wikipedia. If Wikipedia has an article on a company or other organisation, it usually has a link to the official website near the top right corner of the page.

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