Website Owners Falling for Scams
Did you know that 11 million website owners are getting hacked every year? People who have security weaknesses in their websites or do not know how to protect themselves on the internet most likely get their websites hacked. These things that are getting website owners hacked are called scams. These scams include phishing attacks, fraudulent SEO services, domain name scams, and scam popups. If you happen to get scammed it can damage your website, and credibility, and may hurt you financially. We will discuss what these scams are, how they work, and how to protect yourself.
Phishing Scams
There are a lot of different kinds of phishing scams, but their main purpose is to hack and try to steal user’s data. They use emails, messages, popups, and phone calls to get you to fall into their trap. This trap is to make you believe that they are an official company. They get you to fill in sensitive information and that is it. Simple, easy, and damaging.
Now phishing scammers don’t use their email servers because they cost money and could get flagged or blacklisted. So they just use someone else’s resources and send emails from there without you even knowing. This could get your website flagged or blacklisted making your business come to a complete stop. Also, emails could get suspended and flagged.
Fraud SEO Services
Fraudulent SEO services or SEO scams’ main purpose is to charge you monthly or yearly for SEO services that provide no benefit. They explain that your SEO is crap and describe fixes that will help. But they will take your money and either do nothing or get you lower on the Google rankings. Usually, these scams come from cold emails ending with @gmail. They will also be easy to find because of the promises they make. They will make promises such as adding hidden links to increase SEO, having a special relationship with Google, sending your company information to hundreds of search engines, and a lot more fake promises.
Domain Scams
Domain scams are like phishing scams but specifically for domains. Instead, these scammers like to send an email or invoice asking you to renew your domain name. They expect you to think it is real and pay the invoice without checking. There are 3 different versions of this scam:
- The invoice is not for your domain name but a name very similar sometimes only one letter different.
- The scammer tries to trick you into paying them for registering your domain name when they have not.
- The invoice seems to be for domain name registration but is a contract to sign up for the scammer’s services. They may offer a free product or extra service. By signing the invoice, you agree to pay them a regular fee to register your domain name. These fees are usually a lot higher than the standard fee for registering a domain name.
To protect yourself make sure the domain name listed matches exactly what you see on the invoice. Make sure the company is correct. Finally, check when domain name registration renewal is due.
Scammer’s Popups
Scam popups are a big issue when it comes to your site. If your security is not up to date you can let scammers easily install popups and malware onto your website. This can result in your customers getting scammed, creating a poor user experience, and making using the site difficult. It’s very easy to remove these just by updating your security. To protect yourself from other sites you can use an adblocker such as Ublock Origin
Conclusion
In conclusion, Don’t become a part of the 11 million website owners hacked every year. avoid phishing scams fraudulent SEO services, domain name scams, and scam popups. These are easily avoidable just by paying close attention to red flags. If you happen to fall for a scammer’s trick it can damage your website, and credibility, and may hurt you financially. If you want to boost your marketing read my “How To Boost Your Marketing” blog it will teach you how to increase customers and make your brand recognizable.
Sources
https://www.sectigo.com/resource-library/what-is-phishing-and-how-does-it-affect-my-website
https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/consumers-and-businesses/scams/small-business-scams/dom