Anatomy of a Link
Paste a suspicious URL below. We will break it apart and show you exactly where it is trying to send you.
Analyze a Link
Scammers hide their fake websites by adding famous brand names to the Subdomain. The only way to know the true destination of a link is to find the Root Domain.
The Subdomain Trick
When you buy a domain name (like example.com), you get to create as many "subdomains" as you want for free. They go on the left side of the root domain.
So, if a hacker buys secure-update.net, they can create a subdomain called paypal.com. The resulting link looks like:
paypal.com.secure-update.net
Your eyes naturally read left-to-right, so you see "paypal" and trust it. But the internet reads right-to-left. The word just before the .com or .net is the only one that matters.
The Homoglyph Trick
Sometimes hackers don't even bother with subdomains. They just register a domain name that looks identical to the real one.
- microsoft.com (Real)
- rnicrosoft.com (Fake: r + n)
- apple.com (Real)
- appIe.com (Fake: Capital I)