Website spoofing occurs when a bad actor mimics an actual website to fool the user. The attacker may lure a user to the fake website via email, phone call, text, or screensharing software. At a glance it may resemble a legitimate website, but upon closer inspection minor differences may be apparent.
For example, www.bankpds.com is a legitimate website but an unknowing customer may not notice if a link was sent as www.bankkpds.com and included an extra “k” between “bank” and “pds”. Once you go to this site, they may collect the information you put into the false security checks, install malware onto your computer, or request a bank transfer. When the unsuspecting customer fills in their sensitive data on the fraudulent website that they believe is legitimate, the results can be disastrous.
While we have not been notified of any recent scams in our area, these scams are becoming more and more common. Bank of Prairie du Sac will not email or text you asking for personal information. Call us if you are concerned that you may have been spoofed, or if you have any questions. We can be reached at 608.643.3393.