What is a Search Engine Phishing ?

The world today is heavily dependent on search engines, which have undoubtedly become our best companions. We use them for navigating and acquiring information to select the best product to buy. However, as we become more dependent on search engines, it is necessary to know about the kind of scams and tricks that cybercriminals employ through search engines in order to take our personal data without our knowledge. Therefore it is going to be important to be aware of the fraudulent activities that cybercriminals conduct with the use of search engines to steal users' personal information without their knowledge.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at “What Search Engine Phishing is and how it is carried out by the cybercriminal”.

What is Search Engine Phishing?

It is a scamming method that is used by cybercriminals to trick users into search engine results by promoting their malicious web links or websites and prompting users to click on these malicious web links so as to redirect them to fraudulent websites. These fake websites look exactly the same as the actual ones making it hard for users to differentiate between them. The main aim of search engine phishing is to trick users into giving out sensitive information including usernames, passwords, or credit card numbers without knowing that the request is not authentic.

Techniques Used in Search Engine Phishing to Promote Fake Website

• Paid Search Advertising: Paid search Advertising model of search engines is used by cybercriminals to promote fake websites by creating malicious ads that appear at the top of search results. These ads are crafted to redirect users to phishing sites and give user the impression that they are visiting a trustworthy source.
• SEO Manipulation: It is a techniques which is used by cybercriminal to increase the visibility of their malicious websites by using popular keywords and black hat SEO tactics. So that the website is featured in the top of search results and increasing the chances of unsuspecting users encountering them.
• URL Spoofing: With this technique cybercriminal promote their fake phishing websites by making the fake URLs that will look similar to the real website URLs. Because of this the common user will not differentiate between the actual website and the fake one and in result cybercriminal are successful in tricking the user into revealing their sensitive information such as login credentials or financial details.

How Does Search Engine Phishing Work?

To carry out phishing attacks cybercriminal create fake websites that look like legitimate popular websites or online platform. The layout of these fraudulent website look exactly like the legitimate one making it difficult for users to distinguish them from the genuine one. Cybercriminal use various tactics such as URL Spoofing or SEO manipulation to make entire website look like a legitimate website which have its website address and appear at the top of search results. Once user visit these fake websites cybercriminal manipulate the content to include malicious links or forms.

After visiting fake website user click on these links or submit information through forms. Then they are redirected to fraudulent websites that appear to be trustworthy platforms or services. These fake websites look exactly like legitimate one and have the same login or account pages as popular websites. When user enter its credential then it's credential is intercepted by cybercriminal. Credential which is intercepted by the cybercriminal is then sent to the servers of cybercriminal. Cybercriminal can use these credential to gain unauthorised access to user accounts or use the credential for other type of malicious purposes, such as identity theft or financial fraud.

How to Stay Protected From Search Engine Phishing Attack?

To protect ourselves from search engine phishing attack, we should follow some security measures. By following these security measures, we can proactively protect ourselves and minimize the risk of falling victim to search engine phishing.

• Check authenticity of search result: After searching on a search engine always check the URL of a particular search engine result before clicking on it. Always make sure that the website is official one and not a fake one. Modern antivirus software have WebAdvisor tool which can help in determine whether a search result is safe to click based on the URL and page content.
• Always careful from sponsored links and ads: Always be careful when clicking on ads or sponsored links in search results. These links may redirect you to malicious websites or cause many other type security risk.
• Use effective security suites and antivirus software: To protect various devices from known and unknown threats like viruses. We should use effective and up-to-date security suites and antivirus software. With these tools we can protect our devices against all forms of viruses and other type of potential threats.
• Keep Software up-to-date: Keep web browser and security software up-to-date to protect system against recently discovered vulnerabilities. Through regular updates, we ensure that any newly discovered vulnerabilities are patched making it harder for attacker to exploit them.

What To Do if We Fall For Search Engine Phishing ?

Anyone can accidentally fall victim to search engine phishing, when they visit a website and provide their login information. If anyone find themselves in this unfortunate situation, then there are some specific measure that can be take to reduce the potential impact.

• Use effective security suites and antivirus software: To protect various devices from known and unknown threats like viruses. We should use effective and up-to-date security suites and antivirus software. These tools help us in protecting our devices against all forms of viruses and other potential threats.
• Inform about the incident to your contacts: To protect our contact devices from damage inform them about the incident. This help in preventing the spread of phishing attack through our network.
• Change Password immediately: If you provide your login information to the phishing sites then immediately change the password for the account. Choose strong and unique password for each account to enhance security.
• Monitor Account: Keep a close eye on your account for any unusual activities even after taking initial steps. Promptly address any further security concerns. Remember proactively responding to search engine phishing attacks is critical to protect ourselves and personal information.

Conclusion

Search engines are essential for everyday task but they also expose us to cyber threats like search engine phishing. For this reason, Cybercriminals use various techniques such as paid search advertising, URL spoofing and SEO manipulation to promote their fake websites in search engine results and tricking users into visiting the fake website and steal away their sensitive information. To protect ourselves from search engine phishing it is crucial to follow some security measures like Check authenticity of search result, Always careful from sponsored links and ads, Use effective security suites and antivirus software and Always keep Software up-to-date.

If anyone accidentally fall victim to search engine phishing, when they visit a website and provide their login information. Then they have to follow some specific measure that can be take to reduce the potential impact like Change password, Run a security scan and Monitor accounts. By staying informed and proactive we can protect ourselves and minimize the risk of falling victim to search engine phishing.