Typo-squatting and why you should be concerned.

No matter who you are, I think it’s safe to say that we have all misspelled words.  Whether it’s because we’re typing too fast and didn’t realize…or maybe we just don’t know how to spell the word!  In any case, these annoying Cyber-criminals are now taking advantage of our mistakes and causing a lot of stress to those who fall for their tricks!

So what is Typo-squatting?  Quite simply, it’s when we make a typo while typing a URL into a browser.  If you are off by just one or two letters this can be your downfall.  An example being, if you are wanting to find Costco, but type in Costoco instead.  Such an easy mistake, but hackers look for those common misspelled words or words that can be easily miss-typed and create websites that look exactly like the intended page.  From there, once they have the user on their “fake” site, that is when the user is tricked into giving away personal or financial information.

Some common scams are ones that ask you for your personal information because you have won a prize or the one that says your computer has an infection and you need to download a malware-laden file to fix it.  I’m sure many of you can relate!

Security Adviser for Sophos, James Lyne was recently on NBC Nightly News speaking with Tom Costello about the risks of typo-squatting, why hackers use it and of course the precautions you can take to stay safe.

To read more and watch the segment click here.

Quick Tips

Always pay close attention to spelling.

Topic:  Typo-squatting