Recognising Fake Bank Websites
Launch library · evergreen read
Fake bank websites are deliberately built to closely mirror the genuine login page, often reached through a link tucked inside a phishing email or text message rather than typed directly into the browser, which is exactly the moment they are most likely to actually succeed against a distracted user.
Checking the web address carefully for subtle misspellings or unusual domain endings, and confirming the page genuinely uses a secure connection, are both useful checks worth running, though neither one alone guarantees safety against a particularly well made fake banking site copied down to the pixel.
The genuinely safest habit is typing your bank's address directly into the browser yourself, or using a properly saved bookmark, rather than clicking through from any email, text message or search engine advertisement, however convincing the imitation initially appears on a small, glowing phone screen.
If you have entered details on a page you later suspect was fake, contacting your bank immediately to change your password and closely monitor your account gives you the best genuine chance of limiting any resulting damage before it spreads any further into other accounts.