The padlock does not mean a site is safe
The little padlock only means the connection is encrypted. Scammers get padlocks too. It proves privacy, not honesty.
- Understand the padlock means traffic is encrypted in transit — nothing about who runs the site.
- Don’t treat https or a padlock as proof a site is legitimate; most phishing sites now have one.
- Judge a site by the actual domain name, not the padlock icon.
- Be doubly careful on any site you reached from a link in an email, text or ad.
- When in doubt, leave and reach the organisation by typing its known address yourself.
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