Watch Out: There Are Many Fake COVID Sites on the Web

When you’re a scammer, your goal is to trick people any way you can. A common tactic is to create websites that appear legitimate, or are close to the real deal, while really acting as a means for you to scam people. COVID websites are, unfortunately, no exception.

According to Fortune, fake COVID websites began popping up almost as soon as official government sites did. These sites featured URLs that were almost identical to the official page, or were just slightly misspelled. Since the Biden administration announced the deal with the USPS to mail COVID tests to Americans, more than 600 suspicious sites sprung up. You might visit one of these sites thinking you’re signing up for free tests, but, in actuality, you’re handing your data and information over to bad actors.

Some of these fraudulent domains look remarkably legitimate, such as covidtestsgov.com, covidtestgov.net, specialusps.com, specialuspscovidtest.com, and freecovidtestgov.org (do not visit these websites).

As always, exercise caution when typing in a web address or clicking on strange links. If you’re trying to visit official government websites, remember they will almost always end in .gov. Since phony websites don’t only target government domains, remember to look out for any misspellings or oddities with a site you’re attempting to visit.