Phishing Link Inspector
Paste a link without opening it. The address is checked for the usual disguises, with each warning explained in plain words.
Worked examples
A trusted name before an @ sign
https://[email protected]/login
High warning: text before an @ sign. The link really goes to evil.example.
Everything before the @ is a user name that is ignored.
About Phishing Link Inspector
Phishing links are designed to look right at a glance. They put a trusted name before an @ sign so the real destination hides after it. They swap a letter for a look-alike from another alphabet. They use a long chain of sub-domains so the real site is pushed off the edge of a small screen, or a bare number in place of a name. Once you know the tricks they are easy to see, but only if you read the address carefully, and few people do when a message looks urgent.
This inspector reads the link for you without opening it. It shows which site the link really goes to, decodes international names so you can see the letters used, and lists any tricks it finds: text before an @, mixed or look-alike alphabets, number addresses written in disguise, domain names hidden in sub-domains, account words stuffed into the name, shortened links, links that carry another address inside them and files that pretend to be documents. Each is explained in a sentence. It looks at how the link is written, and it cannot prove a link is harmless.
How to use Phishing Link Inspector
- Copy the link without clicking it: right-click it, or press and hold, and choose copy link.
- Paste it into the box.
- Read the verdict and the line that says which site the link really goes to.
- If anything is flagged, do not open it. Go to the company by typing its address yourself.
Common uses
- Checking a link in a text or email that claims to be from your bank
- Training staff to recognise the tricks used in scam links
- Checking a link before you share it with a customer
- Looking at a link that a friend reports as odd
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean result mean the link is harmless?
No. The tool only looks at how the address is written. A new scam site can have a perfectly ordinary address. If a message pushes you to act quickly, go to the company by typing its address yourself or using its own app.
How do I tell which site a link really goes to?
Read the site name, which ends at the first single slash after the https:// part. The real owner is decided by the last two parts of that name, for example example.co.uk. Anything in front of that is just a label chosen by the owner.
What is a look-alike letter attack?
Some letters in other alphabets look identical to English ones. A name can be written with a Cyrillic a in place of a Latin a. It looks the same on screen but leads to a different site. Browsers show such names as xn-- codes in some cases, which the tool decodes.
Why is a short link flagged?
A short link hides where it goes until you open it, so you cannot judge the destination. Use a link unshortener to see the real address first.
What should I do if I already clicked?
Do not enter any details. If you did, change that password at once on the real site and anywhere you reused it, turn on two-step sign-in, and tell your bank or the company involved if money or accounts are at risk.