Scam Website Detection and Reporting: Easy Online Safety Steps for Everyone
When browsing the internet, you may sometimes feel that “this website looks suspicious.” Accidentally accessing a phishing site can put your personal information and money at risk. Here’s a beginner-friendly guide to simple steps you can take right away.
Common Signs of a Suspicious Website
- Domains that imitate official ones (e.g., replacing letters with numbers like “l” → “1,” or adding words like “outlet” to appear as a discount shop)
- Poor or unnatural language, often machine-translated
- Luxury brand items sold at extremely low prices
- Limited payment options such as credit card only
- No SSL certificate (missing “https://”) and showing “Not secure” in the browser
First Steps to Take
- Never enter personal information (name, address, phone number, credit card details)
- Carefully check the URL and compare it with the official website
- If you feel even slightly suspicious, stop browsing immediately
Report to Google
If you discover a suspicious website, report it to Google to help prevent others from becoming victims.
➡️ Report form here: Google Safe Browsing Report
Use Security Software
If you have security software installed, you can enter suspicious URLs to check their safety. In many cases, malicious websites are automatically blocked.
What to Do If You Already Accessed
- Simply viewing the site usually does not cause harm—stay calm
- If you downloaded suspicious files, immediately run a security scan
- If you entered credit card information, contact your card company without delay
Summary
The golden rule with suspicious websites is: “Don’t enter, don’t trust, don’t share.” If you come across a questionable URL, report it via Google’s reporting page.
👉 For beginners, the best defense is to stop your actions immediately whenever something feels even slightly suspicious.