How to Check a Link Before You Click or Share It

A link is a promise: "click here and you will land on this page". Phishing emails, scam messages and spam comments break that promise every day. The good news is that you can see where almost any link goes before you open it or forward it to someone else. Here is how.

Step 1: reveal the real address

The text of a link and its destination are two separate things. "yourbank.com/login" can be written on a link that leads anywhere.

• On a computer: hover the mouse pointer over the link without clicking. The real address appears in the bottom corner of the browser or mail window.
• On a phone: press and hold the link. A preview or menu shows the address. Choose Copy link if you want to inspect it more closely, not Open.
• In messaging apps: the same long-press works in most of them. Link previews (the little card with a picture) are generated from the destination page, so a preview that does not match the message is a warning sign.

Step 2: find the real domain

Web addresses are read in an unusual order, and scammers rely on that. Take this example:

https://login.yourbank.com.secure-check.example/account?id=4471

1. Ignore https://.
2. Find the first single slash after it. Everything before it is the host name: login.yourbank.com.secure-check.example.
3. Read the host name from right to left. The ending (.example) and the word just before it (secure-check) form the real domain.
4. Everything further left (login.yourbank.com.) is chosen by the owner of secure-check.example and means nothing.

So this link does not go to your bank at all. Once you know the rule, these tricks become obvious.

Step 3: watch for look-alike domains

Trick	Example of the idea
Swapped or doubled letters	a domain that spells a brand with two "l"s where it has one
Digits for letters	a zero instead of the letter o, a 1 instead of l
Extra words	brand name plus "-secure", "-login" or "-support"
Different ending	the brand name with an unexpected country or generic ending
Letters from other alphabets	a Cyrillic "а" that looks exactly like a Latin "a"

The last trick is the hardest to spot by eye. Modern browsers often display such domains in a coded form starting with xn--, which is a useful warning sign in itself.

Step 4: unmask short links and redirects

Short links hide their destination by design. Several approaches help:

• Preview features: many URL shorteners show a preview page if you add a special character (often a plus sign) to the end of the short link. Check the shortener's help page.
• Link expanders: online tools that follow a short link and show where it ends, without opening the destination in your browser.
• Look for redirect parameters: long links sometimes contain a second address inside them, after ?url=, ?redirect= or ?to=. The page you finally land on is that inner address.

Redirects are not suspicious in themselves: newsletters and social networks wrap almost every link to count clicks. What matters is the final destination.

Step 5: check reputation when in doubt

If the domain is unfamiliar, a quick search for its name often turns up warnings from other people. Most browsers also check addresses against lists of known dangerous sites and show a full-page warning if there is a match. Never click "continue anyway" on such a warning for a link you received unexpectedly.

Before you share a link

Forwarding a link puts your name behind it. Before you share:

• Open it yourself first, once you have checked it, and make sure it shows what you think it shows.
• Remove tracking parameters. Everything after a ? that looks like utm_source=…, fbclid=… or gclid=… is tracking data and can usually be deleted without breaking the link.
• Check for personal tokens. Links from emails can contain a token that signs the recipient straight into an account or an unsubscribe page. Forwarding such a link can give someone else access. If the link is long and was sent only to you, share the public page address instead.
• Know that some platforms block domains. Social networks and messengers refuse links from domains flagged for spam. If your link is blocked, do not hunt for a way around it; check whether the domain has a bad reputation.

Links in temporary inboxes

When you use a mail generator, links in confirmation emails are the whole point, so you will click them. Check the domain matches the site you just signed up for. If a message appears that you did not trigger, treat its links as suspicious; public inboxes attract phishing. More in Is a Mail Generator Safe?

Summary

Link text is decoration; the address is the truth. Reveal it, find the real domain by reading right to left, watch for look-alikes, expand short links, and clean up links before you share them. Pair this habit with the checks in How to Spot a Phishing Email and you will catch almost every malicious link that reaches you.