Online scammers are taking advantage of typos to steal your personal information

How many times have you typed in the wrong URL? if you’re like many of us, it happens a lot -- but typing the wrong address in your browser and hitting enter can cost you big time.

We all use sites like YouTube or Google, but now, more than ever, criminals are using fake URLs that look like the real ones to steal our identity and more.

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“It’s giving them the ability to redirect the large following that these individuals have to their malicious sites. Then they can spread malware phishing campaigns to capture credentials,” said Quentin Rhoads, director of professional services at Critical Start.

Part of Rhoads’ job is to find weaknesses in the procedures companies use to protect their brands -- and then provide security.

He said users can easily land on “Goggle” instead of Google and end up on a malicious site and forced to pay a serious price. His company recently sent out fake URLs that looked like their clients’ websites to see how well people are paying attention.

The answer: not well.

“A lot of people clicked on it. They entered credentials actually and downloaded malware,” Rhoads said.

Experts say a good way to prevent becoming a victim is as simple as bookmarking your favorite sites. Also double check any links before you click on them through social media.

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