How to spot a scam website

[Molly]

Ok, so I purchased my first two I Bonds on TreasuryDirect.gov. My question is, how do I know the site is genuine and not a fake. I know scammers can make websites look very real. My guess (and hope) is that the government monitors this continually to make sure there are no fake government sites, but I'd like to be sure.

Anyone know?

[Alan]

Well, you should always be cautious when making financial transactions online, but any site with a .gov domain name must be a governmental or other publicly controlled enterprise. Just don't buy your next bonds at TreasuryDirect.us or .com or .net or whatever.

[jp1]

The thing I hate about the treasurydirect website is that absurd "use the virtual keyboard to enter your password" thing. What a great way to discourage people from using randomized, hard to type by mouse, passwords. Is there some way around that idiocy?