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titleWhat is the domain name? Why should I be concerned about domain names?

A domain name is the name of a website.  For example, uwf.edu is a domain name.

It's very difficult for scammers to create fake websites with https://uwf.edu as the domain name.  But scammers can create websites that have URLs similar to the official address.  Users must pay close attention:

  • (tick)  https://uwf.edu/helpdesk (many UWF websites will have uwf.edu/ at the beginning of the URL)
  • (tick)  https://learnmore.uwf.edu/ (this URL has uwf.edu/ nearly at the beginning, but this URL is still valid because a period separates learnmore and uwf)
  • (error)  https://learnmore-uwf.edu/ (even though uwf.edu/ comes nearly at the beginning, this URL isn't valid because a hyphen separates learnmore and uwf, not a period)
  • (error)  https://university_west_florida.com/ (this URL doesn't have uwf.edu/)
  • (error)  https://financial-forms.com/uwf.edu/forms (this URL goes to financial-forms.com/)
  • (error)  https://uwf.edu.free_money.com/ (this URL actually goes to free_money.com/)


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titleCheck the Address Bar

By checking the address bar, you can verify that the site you accessed did not "redirect" you to a different site. Some attackers will use a "redirect" method to gather data. When redirected, you may click or access a link for a known site and may be sent to another. For example, accessing Amazon should bring you to a website with the web address of "amazon.com." If the address bar shows a different website, the website may not be legitimate. Please see the FAQ for further information about web addresses.

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