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Websites associated with the Olympic Games are unsafe

New research from NetNames released today has shown that 89% of websites currently offering travel services, such as tickets and hotel rooms, or live online streams, for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games are not registered to the official Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic body, the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The findings are based on an analysis of 743 generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) containing ‘Rio 2016’, broken down to consider those containing key words of interest including ‘shop’, ‘store’, ‘hotel’, ‘ticket’ and ‘Olympic’. Alarmingly, a number of websites with official sounding domain names have been highlighted as containing live content that could pose a threat to the public.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) also reported this month that there were 3.8 million fraud cases reported in the UK in the year end to March, with 2 million of those relating specifically to digital or IT misuse.[i] These figures highlight that online fraud is a growing problem with those planning trips abroad particularly susceptible. Most victims do not discover they have been duped until arriving at the airport, hotel or event, only to find that their online booking is not a genuine. One British family was recently conned out of almost £4,000 to stay in a Greek Villa they found on a popular online travel review site, Tripadvisor, only to later discover they had transferred the sum to a fraudster.[ii]

Fraudsters are setting up copy-cat websites using cyber or typo-squatted domain names to capitalise on the surge of online traffic relating to the Olympics to make quick profits. Seemingly credible websites offering all-inclusive services including flights, hotels, transfers and tickets to the games can be set up using relatively rudimentary coding skills and an authentic looking domain name, making it a common threat for online shoppers.

With the Rio Olympics fast approaching, Gary McIlraith, CEO at NetNames, the online brand protection and domain name management specialist, warns consumers of the scams lurking online ahead of the Games.

“Our research shows that the threat posed by cyber-criminals at this year’s Olympic Games is very real. Fraudsters have set up websites to con consumers at every possible opportunity, from booking hotel rooms, buying tickets and searching for local events, to purchasing official merchandise and streaming online, the internet is rife with fraudsters ready to take unsuspecting consumers’ cash. Here are some top tips to make sure you don’t get conned online.“

1. “Shop around – if one particular website is selling branded goods at a much lower price than the rest, think twice. If the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is!”

2. “How long ago was the domain name registered? Put the details into www.who.is and look at the date it was registered. Whilst it’s not a fail-safe test, domains registered for a year or more tend to suggest a website that’s reputable.”

3. “Does the website display a security certificate? Websites that invest in protecting the personal and financial details of their customers will always use SSL encryption. This is shown by a padlock in the website address bar or, when using certain browsers such as Chrome or Firefox, the URL bar will be green.”

4. “What do other people say about the website? Social media ‘likes’ and followers are easy to purchase and positive feedback on review sites can be faked, giving the impression of authenticity. Take some time to search for peer reviews of the website and products, as these are harder (although not impossible) to fake.”

[i] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice

[ii] http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/family-paid-3828-online-holiday-7851539

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by NetNames .