Greg's Corner

How a typo could cost you money

Right now, it’s probably too late to get a Christmas present to someone on time if you’re shopping online. However, there is an online shopping scam that takes place all year long that you should be aware of.

Have you ever mistyped the address of your favorite website only to end up on some sketchy site full of ads and malware? Now what if you mistyped the address of your favorite shopping site but the site looked exactly the same? That’s what some scammers are hoping happens if you misspell the name of a popular retailer.

Some scammers have registered slightly misspelled web addresses, known as URLs, to try to trick you into giving them money. For example, scammers will register a URL that puts in a zero when the actual address had an ‘O’ in it. Or they’ll add an extra letter that most people won’t notice. This is known as ‘typosquatting’

These typosquatters won’t just sit around waiting for someone to make a typing error. They’ll also send out phishing emails that look like they’re from the legitimate retailer but use their phony URL for any links in the email. As always, you should never click on email links from people you don’t know personally.

If you go to the duplicate site, not only could scammers get your login information for the legitimate site, they could also get your financial information.

The best way to protect yourself from typosquatting outside of double-checking your spelling is to use a credit card when shopping online. Credit cards come with more consumer protections than that of a debit card, gift card, or online payment service. Some credit cards even provide a free service that generates a temporary credit card number that you could use for a one time purchase. This will prevent your credit card from being used for additional fraudulent charges.