Similar words are a very effective method used by phishers to trick their victims into thinking they are on a legitimate website.
A good example is provided by Conrad Longmore on his blog Dynamoo. The security expert warns about an email from the LinkedIne website that is designed to lure users to a phishing website.
Lookfor the “e” at the end of the “LinkedIne” domain that tries to trick you into thinking you are on “LinkedIn”
It all starts with an email titled “You will need to confirm your email address,” and it appears to come from LinkedIn Technical Support.
The fake message states: "We are writing to inform you that your LinkedIn account has been blocked due to inactivity. To ensure that your online services with LinkedIn are not deleted, click here to unblock your account."
You will be asked to log in to your account and confirm your email address. Make sure you log in with your current primary email address. Please verify your email address before sending invitations or requesting connections on LinkedIn.
You can have multiple email addresses, but one must be confirmed and used in the system.”
The links in the email direct recipients to “linkedlne.com with IP 92.48.75.214 . When they go to the phishing site, victims are prompted to verify their LinkedIn account by linking it to one of their email accounts. Of course, this has nothing to do with LinkedIn.
All information submitted ends up in a database controlled by cybercriminals. They can use this data for a variety of reasons, including spam, phishing, and malware attacks.
It's worth noting that the same email text that lures users to the phishing site has been used for over a year now. However, it's clear that scammers are still using it because there are still people who believe it.
Currently, the domain “linkedlne.com” has been flagged by both Google and antivirus programs as malicious.
