Don’t fall for deceptive domain names and URLs

One way not to get fooled as you use the web is for you to be a little more familiar with domain names and URLs.

False domain names and URLs have been used to trick and defraud people in the past and is still happening today.

A domain name which is simply the address of a website is a component of a URL. Here’s an example of a URL:

https://www.example.com/index.html

https: the web protocol

www: the host name

example: the second-level domain

com: the top-level domain

index.html: the website resource name

Here’s another “similar” example:

https://www.example.com.fraud.net/index.html

example: the fourth-level domain

com: the third-level domain

fraud: the second-level domain

net: the top-level domain

A careless user will see this second URL and then click without noticing that the actual domain name of the website is fraud.net.

Also watch out for domain names which are close in similarity to popular and legitimate websites. For example facelook.com for facebook.com.

Note that the link you click to a website cannot always be trusted as you can be led to a fake website. Check the link on the address bar of the web browser you're using for the true URL. 

You could checkout the video below to also learn about domain name system (DNS) poisoning and domain hijacking.

This post only speaks as relates to URL character string format and does not cover the entirety of how to avoid being tricked or scammed on the web. To learn more please read other similar posts. 

Hope you learnt something.

Remember: When in doubt always check.

Stay vigilant!