Next time you click on websites, better read the spelling of the URL more than once. Make it doubly sure that it is the website you intend to visit, particularly when carrying out financial transactions.

Hackers also use double characters (ll, tt) or inserting a small word in the middle to make it look as the original address.

Hackers are found to be inserting characters like I, l, r, t and s to mislead web surfers. Also, they tinker with the TLDs (top level domain names) by using .co for a .com.

Internet security solutions firm Websense found that incidence of typo-squatting (change of the web addresses with minor changes) has gone up. It said it is one of the top methods employed by hackers to attack the systems.

This is a very simple form used by the hackers as it is not that difficult to deceive the web surfers because the web address is not visually widened or lengthened. “While it may seem an antiquated methodology, the application of typo-squatting has evolved into successful fraudulent incidents generating millions of dollars in financial losses and operational overhead,” the US-based firm has said in its latest report.

“When comparing more than 20 industries, financial services ranked as one of the highest These attacks are often combined with social engineering tactics via email to compromise hosts or to manipulate users (particularly in finance groups) to instigate an action (such as initiating an invoice payment or wire transfer),” the report said.

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