Security is always a concern, especially online. Unfortunately, it has become very easy for hackers to scam online consumers. What’s worse is that these hackers have also become very sophisticated and make almost exact replicas of legitimate sites.

Traditionally, banks and financial institutions were the primary targets for hackers, but now brands are coming under attack. Part of this transition is due to the fact that consumers have grown smarter about giving out their private information on banking sites. However, many of those same consumers are not as cautious on e-commerce sites.

According to Ryan White of VeriSign, there are thousands of new fraudulent sites created each day. To help brands protect themselves and their consumers, VeriSign has a defensive feature to ensure that security. When businesses use Extended Validation SSL, the address bar turns green to show consumers that it is a safe site.

In addition, VeriSign has a Phish or No Phish program in which the company educates consumers on how to distinguish between a genuine site and fraudulent site.