If you search for this on Google, you could lose money: this is how SEO poisoning works.

What if a simple Google search could open the door to a hacker attack? We're not talking about downloading illegal software or visiting dark web forums. We're talking about something as everyday as asking if a cat breed is legal in another country. This is the new frontier of cybercrime.

For years, the first digital commandment was not to click on strange links. But times have changed . It's no longer about avoiding emails from "Nigerian princes" or garishly colored pop-ups. The new battleground is Google's own search engine .

The technique known as SEO poisoning has gained prominence among organized hacker groups. It involves manipulating the search algorithm to position fraudulent links among the top results. To the user, these sites appear normal. Sometimes they replicate the design of well-known media outlets, while other times they offer seemingly technical or legal information.

One specific case detected was hidden under the search term "Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?" and wasn't chosen randomly. Its uniqueness and ambiguity make it an ideal question for detecting specific user profiles: pet owners, expats, students, or animal lovers . By clicking on a malicious link, the user enters a trap that may include fake forms, automated downloads, or data-capturing scripts.

Behind these types of attacks lies something deeper than a technical vulnerability. There's an almost surgical understanding of human impulses. Curiosity, the need for quick answers, blind trust in the first search results . All of this is part of the social engineering playbook that hackers exploit with precision.

The worrying thing isn't just the sophistication of the tools, but how easy it is to fall for them. All it takes is a momentary doubt, a quick search on a mobile phone, a click on a misspelled link. There are no obvious spelling errors, no pixelated images . Everything looks legitimate. And that's what makes it so dangerous.

The attacks aren't massive or obvious. They're surgical. They seek to steal from you without you noticing, while you think you're just learning about legal requirements, animal breeds, or import regulations. In reality, you're offering your information on a silver platter.

Here are some key recommendations to avoid SEO poisoning:

• Always check the URL before clicking. Be wary of strange domains or domains that don't match the supposed source.
• Avoid sharing personal information on unverified pages. A site may appear official but lack the HTTPS security protocol.
• Change your passwords frequently. And don't reuse combinations across different platforms.
• Be wary of even the first results on Google. The order in which they appear doesn't guarantee security.

These measures do not eliminate the risk completely, but they significantly reduce exposure to the hazard.

Google is working to prevent these problems , which are occurring more and more rapidly with the generation of new pages and content thanks to artificial intelligence.