unmaskLink inspector
Paste a link, or the message it came in, to see where it really goes. The link is never opened.
Try an example:
Letter-by-letter check
- Foreign letter
- Invisible or hidden
- Number or symbol for a letter
- Can be misread
Link broken down
Parameters
Check online (optional)
Everything above ran on your device. This extra check does not open the link on your device. Instead, a separate Unmask server, with no connection to you, opens the link for you. It follows any redirects, looks up the domain's age and checks the exact link against the live URLhaus blocklist. You never visit the link yourself.
- The link is sent to an Unmask server. Its domain is passed on to public lookup services (domain registries and the abuse.ch URLhaus blocklist).
- The server visits the link to follow redirects. Whoever made the link may see a visit from a cloud server, not from you. For a tracking link, that still counts as a click. Your own IP address and details are not passed on to the link's site.
- The part of a link after a "?" can hold personal details, like your email. It is left out unless you tick the box below.
- Unmask does not keep the links you check.
This checks the text of the link, and its address against a list of known malware hosts kept on your device. It never opens the link, so it cannot see where a short link or redirect ends up, how old a site is, or whether this exact link is listed. The optional online check above can.
How scammers trick you
- Foreign letters. Other alphabets have letters that look just like English
ones, like
apple.comandаpple.com. - Numbers for letters. A zero in place of an "o", as in
faceb00k.com. - Look-alike pairs. "rn" can pass for "m", as in
rnicrosoft.com. - Hidden tricks. A name before an @ is ignored, so
paypal.com@evil.examplegoes to evil.example. - Redirects and IP loggers. Some links pass you on, or log your IP address when you open them.
- Pressure. Rushing, prizes, officials, gift cards and codes.
Not sure? Don't click. Type the company's address yourself.