You must have seen pop ups like "You have won an Iphone, click here to get it now!", or something like this "Your browser seems to be outdated, update to the latest version now!". These pop ups are called FAKE POP UPs. And you must have seen websites likes http://facebook.corn/ , this website isn't real because it uses .corn whereas the real website uses .com
These attacks are becoming common nowadays, people think that the pop up/website is legit, and they enter their details. After sometime they realise that the pop up/website was fake, but the time to act will have already gone.
Website:
Detecting a fake website is quite easy, the best and easy way is to check the URL of the website.
The main items to check are :
• Protocol
• Sub Domain
• Domain Name
• Top Level Domain
The file path doesn't matter because the file path only shows the document/page that we are accessing.
• Protocol: The protocol should be HTTPS.
• Sub Domain: The sub domain should be WWW.
• Domain Name: The domain should be the name of the company/organisation/application.
• Top Level Domain: This is the most important thing because most of the hackers change the top level domain to something else to fool people. The top level domain is set by the company/organisation itself. You can search for the original top level domain of the website on the internet to verify it.
If the above items are correct in the website's URL, then the website is legitimate.
Note: It is better to directly go to the website, instead of searching the website and then going.
Pop Up:
To detect a fake pop up, keep these 3 things in your mind:
• Look for spelling mistakes and unprofessional images: To detect a fake pop, look closely at the information being displayed in the pop up. Are there any spelling mistakes? Do the images look professional? Poor grammar and unprofessional image suggests that a pop-up is fake.
• Do they look legit?: Compare the pop up with a legitimate pop up. Familiarise yourself with legitimate pop ups by searching about legit pop ups on the internet.
• Do they try to lure you?: If a pop up tries to lure you, then the pop up is probably fake. Most of the fake pop ups try to lure you.
Note: Do not click on a pop up unless & until you think that the pop up is safe to open.