I typed [banned mixer] into Google and clicked the first link (not realising it was an ad link) - I clicked fast without looking properly as I was in a hurry.
Sent coins without verifying the letter of guarantee as was in a hurry and I've used [banned mixer] loads of times without any problems from many, many mixes. Clicked off and several hours later wondered where the fuck my coins were. Spent two hours trying to figure it out, then when retracing my steps on how I got to the URL, I realised it was a fucking phishing link.
Christ, that's a big loss.
Most phishing scams from experience spread through the google ads platform, because they don't seem to review any websites at all for potentially malicious content, and they are strategically placed on the top of the page to mislead people into thinking that it's the top result. I'd say that the majority of the time when you search for a mixer on google, the ads direct you to phishing sites.
It's really a feature of Google that is severely flawed, but heck, they make big bucks out of this so they could care less. I find that nowadays it's completely necessary to verify the website you are visiting with official channels like the ANN thread on bitcointalk, before you transact with it. Bookmarking as you mentioned is a good practice, but for new sites, you still need to be extremely cautious and check on social platforms, as you don't have a bookmark beforehand.
