Security firm McAfee has released a new report warning of the ever-present threat of typo-squatting. The report highlights the number of website squatters registering domains using common misspellings of popular brands, products and celebrities in order to redirect consumers to bogus websites.
These sites often use click-through advertising to generate revenues, and lure unsuspecting consumers into scams to harvest email addresses. "Typo-squatting illustrates the Wild West mentality that remains dominant in major areas of the internet," said Jeff Green, senior vice president at McAfee Avert Labs.