Take a look at the screen below:





You would think this is a legitimate login site for Western Union, and you would have come to this by clicking on an e-mail link promising you $30 for taking a survey, and a chance to win $600. There's even a security verification code for you to type in, to make sure you're a legitimate user!

Now, take a closer look, specifically at the page heading and the Web address:

It doesn't read "www.westernunion.com," but rather "www.westernunionon.com." If you weren't careful, you might not notice the extra "on" in the Web address.

This is what's known as a "spoof" Web site, designed to collect your personal information for identity thieves. It's totally fraudulent, but slick enough to trap the unwary.

President Reagan used the phrase "trust but verify" so many times, I recall hearing, that former Soviet premier Mikhail S. Gorbachev would gag on hearing the words. Well, my apologies to Gorbachev, but Reagan was right then — and he leaves us an important lesson for cybersurfing today, except that I would turn it around: Verify, then trust.

— Mark Kellner, The Washington Times