Typosquat domain
Sender or site domain is the real brand with a swapped, dropped or lookalike character (rn for m, 1 for l).
How to spot it
- Letters swapped or lookalike (rn/m, 1/l, 0/o)
- Brand name spelled almost right in the registrable domain
What to do
Read the registrable domain character by character; open the site by typing the address or using a saved bookmark.
What the real thing looks like
- Message from the correctly spelled real domain with no urgency
- A real vendor that uses an unusual but correct spelling
Try an example
A practice example with fictional companies. Answer it, then see the tells.
Tap the part of the address that shows who owns it.
FromFrom: Acme Bank AlertsSender address: alerts@acrnebank.example
Tome
Your statement is ready
Hello,
Your March statement is ready to view.
Hover over or tap a link to see where it really goes. Links in this lesson are never clickable.
Skip everything up to ://, stop at the first single slash, ignore anything before an @, then read right to left.
Test yourself on eight more
The free quiz mixes scams with legitimate messages, like real life. No sign-up.