Read a link from the right, not the left

The start of a link is the easiest part to fake. In hxxps://usps.parcel-help.example[.]com/track, the familiar name is a subdomain that anyone can create. The part that decides where you land is the registrable domain, here example[.]com, which sits just before the first single slash.

Warning signs

• A familiar name at the start, followed by more dots and another name.
• An @ sign in the middle. Browsers ignore everything before it.
• A short link, which hides the destination entirely.

What to do

1. Find the first single slash after https://, then read leftward to the second dot. That is who you are visiting.
2. Paste the link into the Link tab of our checker to see the parts separated.
3. When in doubt, skip the link and open the company app or type the address you already know.

Already clicked or paid? Go to the recovery steps.