Criminals buy ads that appear ABOVE the real result when you search for your bank. Even legit websites can serve infected ads. It's called malvertising.
The "Sponsored" links at the top of a search aren't ranked by trust, they're ranked by who paid. Criminals pay. Scroll past ads, or better, bookmark your bank and type addresses yourself.
They purchase search ads for "YourBank login" or "QuickBooks download." Their fake site appears ABOVE the real one, marked only by a small "Sponsored" tag.
Same logo, same login page. You never left the search results, so it feels safe.
Passwords harvested, or a poisoned installer delivered.
Infected ads sneak into legitimate ad networks, so a trusted news site can serve a malicious popup through no fault of its own.
Skip sponsored results. Click the organic result below, or type the address.
Bookmark your bank and other money sites. Use the bookmark every time.
Run an ad blocker like uBlock Origin. It kills most malvertising outright.
Keep your browser updated so drive-by ad exploits have nothing to grab.
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