spoofed sites
A spoofed website looks like the real thing, but is actually a fake website, or hoax. The creators of spoofed sites want you to think that you are on the site of a real person or organisation in order to trick you. They may want to fool you into disclosing personal information or even downloading a virus.
A spoofed site doesn’t contain true information about the things it says it does, and you should never enter any information into it.
Did you know?
To make spoof sites seem genuine, the people who create them often use the names, logos and pictures from the real company's website. They can even fake the URL that appears in the address field at the top of your browser window.
How do I spot a spoof?
There's no 100% foolproof way to spot a spoofed website. However, you can look for these signs to help you decide if the website is genuine:
• Are there spelling or grammatical errors? Genuine websites are proof-read (often by teams of people) before they go ‘live’ (are posted online).
• Spoofed sites sometimes have an @ symbol in the URL (eg. digimon@digimon.com)
• The names may be slightly changed just enough to try and fool you. For example, SpongeBob Squarepants may be called, “SquareBob Spongepants”
Top tip
You can avoid spoofed websites by:
• Never clicking on a link provided in spam email. You can pretty much guarantee that they will always take you to a spoofed website.
• Wherever possible, typing in the URL into the address field at the top of your browser window yourself.
• Trying not to make any spelling mistakes when you’re typing in a URL. Ask your caregiver (or teacher, if you’re at school) if you’re unsure how to spell a word.
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