Address bar shows hp.com. Browser displays scammers' malicious text anyway

5 isaacfrond 4 6/19/2025, 8:20:03 AM arstechnica.com ↗

Comments (4)

karmakaze · 1m ago
The first screenshot in the article shows the malicious page rendering with the top search result saying "Microsoft-Report a technical support scam" right below "Call Us 1-805-xxx-xxxx for free". It may of course still fool some, but it's not that there's no indication of foul play.
sunaookami · 24m ago
Big tech needs be hold accountable for scam ads on their platforms. I can't believe how many scam ads e.g. Facebook has, it's insane. Thank god my mom knows to ignore them and I installed an adblocker for her.
baobun · 1h ago
osullip · 1h ago
Every website will suffer from this.

Fix is easy enough - check the http referer before showing a result. E.g in insites.io(or any liquid scripting site) you can check like this: {% assign is_internal_search = context.headers.HTTP_REFERER contains context.location.host %}

Just check the search is happening on a site or device you own. That attack vector is then gone (hackers cannot spoof the refer that google sends via ads.)