How are scammers using typosquatting techniques to create fake gambling websites

typosquatting

What is Typosquatting ?

Typosquatting is a technique used by scammers to create fake websites that are designed to look like legitimate ones. The scammers register a domain name that is very similar to the legitimate site, but with a slight variation such as a misspelled word or a different top-level domain (TLD). The goal is to trick users who make typographical errors when entering the URL of the legitimate site into their browser. In the context of online gambling, scammers use typosquatting to create fake gambling websites that appear to be legitimate.

How is Typosquatting used to lure gamblers?

One of the ways that scammers use typosquatting to create fake gambling websites is by registering domain names that are very similar to the legitimate ones. For example, they may register a domain name that is a misspelling of the legitimate one, such as “goole.com” instead of “google.com”. Similarly, they may register a domain name with a different TLD, such as “google.org” instead of “google.com”. In the context of online gambling, scammers may register a domain name that is similar to a legitimate gambling site, such as “pokermstars.com” instead of “pokerstars.com”.

Once the scammers have registered the fake domain name, they create a website that is designed to look like the legitimate one. They may copy the design, content, and layout of the legitimate site, and even use the same logos and images. The goal is to create a website that appears to be legitimate, so that users will not suspect that they are being scammed.

How Scammers exploit Google to get their fake websites listed?

To get the fake gambling website listed in Google search results, scammers use a technique called “search engine optimization” (SEO). SEO involves optimizing a website so that it appears at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. Scammers use SEO to get their fake gambling website listed at the top of search results for keywords related to the legitimate site. For example, they may use SEO to get their fake poker site listed at the top of search results for keywords such as “poker online”, “play poker”, or “poker games”.

The danger of fake gambling websites created using typosquatting is that users may unknowingly enter their personal and financial information into a fake site. Scammers can use this information to steal money from users’ accounts or to sell their information on the dark web. In addition, users who deposit money into a fake gambling site may lose their money without having any chance of winning.

How the famous gambling website Betsson.com was once victim of a typosquatting phishing attack

One example of hackers using typosquatting techniques to create a spoofed gambling website is the case of Betsson.com. In 2017, hackers created a fake version of the popular online gambling site Betsson.com using a domain name that was very similar to the legitimate one.

The fake site, which was registered as “betssson.com” (with an extra ‘s’), looked almost identical to the real Betsson site. The hackers used the same layout, design, and branding as the legitimate site, and even copied some of the content. The only difference was the domain name, which was slightly misspelled.

The fake Betsson site was used to conduct a phishing attack, where the hackers sent out emails to Betsson customers urging them to log in to their accounts on the fake site. The emails claimed that there had been a security breach on the Betsson site and that customers needed to log in to their accounts on the fake site to change their passwords.

When customers logged in to the fake Betsson site, their login credentials were captured by the hackers. The hackers could then use these credentials to access the customers’ real Betsson accounts and steal their money.

Betsson quickly became aware of the fake site and took action to shut it down. However, some customers had already fallen victim to the phishing attack and had their login credentials stolen.

How to protect yourself?

To avoid falling victim to typosquatting scams, users should be careful when entering URLs into their browsers. They should double-check the spelling of the domain name and make sure that it matches the legitimate one. Users should also be wary of websites that appear to be legitimate but have a different TLD or are misspelled. Finally, users should be cautious when depositing money into a gambling site and should only use sites that are well-known and trusted. If a site seems too good to be true, users should be suspicious and investigate further before depositing any money.

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