FBI warns of fake websites impersonating census internet locations
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The FBI is warning Americans that there are fake websites posing as places to fill out the 2020 census
The FBI said they have found at least 63 bogus web domains posing as census websites.
"The FBI has observed entities not associated with the US Census Bureau registering numerous domains spoofing the (Census) Bureau's websites, likely for malicious purposes," the agency said in an alert. "These suspicious spoofed domains are easily mistaken for legitimate Census Bureau websites and can be used for advertising, credential harvesting, and other malicious purposes. Spoofed domains (aka typosquatting) mimic legitimate domains by either altering character(s) within the domain or associating another domain with similar characteristics to the legitimate domain, such as 'Censusburea[.]com' or 'census-gov[.]us' Spoofed domains are increasingly used by cyber criminal and state-sponsored groups to propagate the spread of malware, which can lead to further compromise and financial losses. This activity poses a risk to both the US Census Bureau and the public."
