Scams and phishing
The top search result might be an ad for a fake site
You searched for your bank, or for a program you needed to download. The first result looked right. It was paid for by someone else.
1 min readExplainer
The short version
Scammers buy search ads that look like the real company, leading to fake sign-in pages and software downloads.
How it works
Search engines show paid ads above the regular results. Scammers buy ads for searches like a bank’s name, a payroll service or popular free software. The ad shows the company’s name and something close to its web address.
Clicking leads to a copy of the real site. For a bank or payroll provider, it is a fake sign-in page that collects your password. For software, it is a download that includes malware alongside, or instead of, the program you wanted.
In December 2022, the FBI warned the public about exactly this, and recommended checking that a site is real before clicking an ad.
What to do
- Bookmark the sites you use for money, such as banking and payroll, and use the bookmark every time.
- Look for the word “Sponsored” or “Ad” above a search result, and scroll past it to the real site.
- Download software only from the maker’s own site, reached by typing the address, or ask IT to install it for you.
- Check the address bar before you sign in to anything.
- Use an ad blocker in your browser if your IT provider allows it.
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