Should you trust every site you visit? No, you shouldn’t, especially if they arrived in your email address, passing the spam filters and offering you an amazing experience if you give them your bank account number.
Trusted websites will likely be noticed at first glance, but there is always more to look for. When going to a new website, here are some things that you should pay attention to.
Transparency
Usually, the most secure sites are the transparent ones. The first thing you will notice on a reasonably secure site is that they are using a secure connection. That will be obvious by the color green of the first five letters of the site’s address, namely the https. The S, in the end, indicates that your connection to the site is encrypted and that any data that you submit to them cannot be intercepted and stolen.
Sites that are trustworthy will also disclose their information without any hidden messages or small lines of text. Sportsbooks tend to be transparent, especially those offering promo codes, like the Pools bonus code. The promo code explicitly states that you need to be over 18 and a UK resident to be eligible for the code, not to mention other requirements. If the site is transparent about their origins and terms of service, they are likely trustworthy.
Trust certificates can also be found on various sites. Trust companies validate sites on their own demand and that earns them a certificate. The logos and images can be faked so if you have any doubt about a site, contact the company whose logo is on the site and ask them whether the site in question is a valid and trustworthy one.
Research
If transparency fails your test, you should do your own research. Check whether the site has any feedback. Search for the site and the customer reviews. That should give you a hint as to whether the site had any customers or feedback.
Check whether a site is affiliated with a popular and established name like PayPal. If they have PayPal payments enabled on their site, then you can certainly expect them to be trustworthy. Any other big name should do the trick, though you can always double-check that information with the big brand if you have your suspicions.
Check the site’s link. There are plenty of social network copies that you get sent to from various links which have only one purpose, to steal your data. Pay special attention to links when you’re visiting sites, do not just go jumping into murky waters.
Stay safe and double-check your information, look for transparency and feedback, do your research and you will be safe online.