Scammers have found a way to make their URLs similar to the authentic URLs of some popular websites for cryptocurrency exchange, such as Binance and Bittrex.
Last time Bitcoin is the most talked about topics, so it attracted scammers.
According to cryptocurrency subreddit, scammers have found a way to make their website addresses (URLs) similar to the authentic URLs of some popular websites for cryptocurrency exchange, such as Binance and Bittrex.
Reddit user "chrysotileman" posted a screenshot of a fake cryptocurrency exchange site "coinsmarkets.com." If you know something about security, you will easily notice that this website is not legitimate because it does not have the proper certification to show that it is reliable.
A sign that the website is reliable and the company obtained the proper SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates, is green light of “Secure” and “https” before the website's URL address.
“Coinsmarkets.com” website doesn't have the green "Secure" or "https" before its URL address. There we can see grey "Not Secure" and a regular "http" before the URL.
But there is also an example of a scam website that masquerades as a popular cryptocurrency exchange website Binance. At first glance, its address looks legal, and in the beginning of URL is a green "https".
But if you look closely, you’ll see two small dots under the website address. Those dots could be misunderstood as spots of dust on the monitor. Scammers use the regular letter "n" with a dot diacritic, which is used in central European languages and Vietnamese.
Some advices to avoid scam sites which imitate real, legitimate sites
- Be careful to the links in online places like forums, social media, email.
- Pay your attention to abnormalities in such links, like an underdot or cedilla under a letter. But they could be hidden by the underlining of the link.
- The best way — manual typing the website URL address in the browser's address bar.
- You can download web browser extensions specifically designed for "crypto-enthusiasts" such as the Cryptonight extension for Chrome, which helps prevent phishing scams.
Source: