Home / Lookalike link checker
Is this link a lookalike?
Paste a link from a text or email. See in plain words whether the address is hiding something, then print a card to keep by the phone.
Result in a second · stays on your device · nothing to sign up for
Before you click
- Letters that look right but aren't
- Extra words like -deals
- A strange ending
- Numbers instead of a name
- A shortened link
Check a link
Ten checks, each explained in plain words and rated high, medium or low.
Your result shows here
- Copy the link from your text or email without opening it.
- Paste it above and press Check this link.
- Read the warning signs before you tap anything.
The rule
Read the address from the right. The last name before the ending is who you are really dealing with.
What the checker looks for
Every example here is made up. None of these addresses can be opened.
- High
Lookalike letters
Letters from another alphabet can look exactly like English ones, and xn-- in an address is the computer's code for them. The address reads like a shop you know but leads somewhere else.
Example: shоp-name.example the o is from another alphabet
- High
An @ sign in the middle
Everything before the @ is ignored when the link opens. It is there to look familiar. The real destination is what comes after it.
Example: [email protected] you would reach claim-prize.example
- High
A number address instead of a name
Honest shops use a name you can recognise. Numbers have no name to check and no name that can be noticed and blocked.
Example: http://192.0.2.44/parcel/pay no name at all
- High
A familiar name placed in front
An address is read from right to left. The real site is the last name before the ending. Anything in front of it, even .com, is decoration.
Example: shop-name.com.big-sale.example the real site is big-sale.example
- Medium
Extra words around a name
Words like deals, offers, support, login or verify are added so a made-up site looks tied to a shop you know. Account words like login and verify are rated high.
Example: shop-name-deals.example deals added to the name
- Medium
A shortened link
A shortening service hides the real destination until it opens. Scammers use it to hide a fake shop.
Example: short.link/x7Qp2 destination hidden
- Medium
An unusual address ending
Some endings are cheap and quick to register, so they turn up a lot on throwaway shop sites. Familiar shops mostly use .com or an ending for their country. Cheaper endings score low, the most throwaway-friendly score medium.
Example: shop-name.xyz the ending .xyz
- Medium
A very long address
Scammers pile words in front of the real name so it is pushed off the end of a phone screen. Four or more parts in front of the real name is rated medium.
Example: pay.login.account.secure.shop-name.example the real name is at the far end
- Medium
Numbers standing in for letters
A 0 or 1 inside a word, or vv for w, so that sh0p reads as shop at a glance.
Example: sh0p-name.example zero instead of o
- Low
Small extras
Lots of hyphens, a port number, a link without a padlock (http) or a very long coded tail each add a low warning. They matter more in a group.
Example: http://shop-name.example:8443/p no padlock and a port number
Free, printable, takes two minutes.
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Your check-before-you-click card
Fold it, keep it by the phone, or hand it to a parent. Add a family member's number on the back.
Cut along the dashed line and fold. Front on the left, back on the right.
Check before you click
- Letters that look right but aren't
- Extra words: -deals, -support, -login
- A strange ending (.top, .xyz)
- Numbers instead of a name
- A shortened link
- An @ sign in the middle
- A very long address
Don't tap it. Type the shop's name yourself.
Call ______
ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Send me the checklist.
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