If you need one more reason to be more careful online, try this: the FBI is warning about new shady tactics cybercriminals are using to trick people into downloading malware by mistake, and how to protect yourself.

According to a PSA (opens in new tab) released by the FBI last month (found on the Linus Tech Tips forum (opens in new tab)), some industrious miscreants are buying ad space on search engines to sites that look "identical to the official web pages of the companies they impersonate" They are posting misleading ads with links to sites that appear to be "identical to the spoofed company's official web page.

These ads usually appear at the top of the page just above the search results, giving the links legitimacy. In many cases, they are shown to people looking for download links for programs or apps.

Worse yet, the FBI noticed that this technique was being used to impersonate websites involved in finance and cryptocurrency, more specifically crypto exchange platforms. Ultimately, these fake websites trick victims into attempting to log in, giving cybercriminals access to victims' personal information and potential funds.

One tip the FBI recommends is to use ad-blocking extensions when searching for something online to block fake search results. Other tried-and-true Internet safety measures include checking URLs for spelling and typos, and accessing websites directly instead of using search engine results.

The FBI also urges companies to teach customers and users how to avoid fake sites and where to download legitimate software, and to use "domain protection services" to notify companies when similar domains are registered to prevent domain spoofing.

This does not address the larger concern of how easily cybercriminals can buy up ad space on search engines and flood them with bogus and harmful ads. Our preferred adblock is Adblock Plus (opens in a new tab). An easy-to-use Chrome extension, the free version blocks ads and website tracking.