Be cautious when online shopping, avoid spoofed websites, AG Nessel says
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Michigan Attorney General, Dana Nessel, announced residents should be careful when online shopping.
Residents should be cautious when online shopping to avoid spoofed websites or social media accounts pretending to be real or well-known brands, Nessel said.
According to Nessel, the spoofed accounts can:
- steal your passwords
- install harmful malware on your device
- trick you into buying an item that you will never receive
- purchase knock-off items
Spoofing harms businesses by damaging the company's reputation, also causing loss of customer trust or financial losses, according to Nessel.
"Shopping online is a convenient way to purchase all of your holiday gifts this season," Nessel said. "Advanced technology has made it easier by delivering ads for products consumers recently searched for. However, bad actors have also taken advantage of this technology to create and advertise spoofed websites or social media accounts intended to trick people out of their hard-earned money. Shoppers should protect themselves by going directly to the site using the URL they are familiar with."
Consumers may be led to a spoofed website from a phishing email or a smishing text.
A message may come up saying to log in to your account to stop suspicious activity or to avoid account cancelation, Nessel said.
You may be directed to open an attachment or click on a link, which could contain a spoofed URL disguised as a legitimate business website, Nessel said.
Never click on links or open attachments in unsolicited emails, Nessel said.
Nessel and the Better Business Bureau recommend consumers do the following to protect themselves:
- Examine the URL or social media handle to ensure the site is the real one and not a spoof. Giveaways could include misspellings, poor grammar on websites, or social media accounts that were recently created or lack reviews.
- Pay attention to the quality of the website you are directed to. Spoofed websites are likely to be of lower quality than their legitimate counterparts.
- Don't click on links in websites or text messages, instead visit the URL you know to be true.
- Consumers can also use a fake website checker like Google's Safe Browsing tool to help determine if a website is real.
To file a complaint or for additional information visit the attorney general's website.