How to check a suspicious link

A practical checklist you can use with confirmURL.com or on your own.

Step 1 — Slow down

Urgent messages (“account locked”, “payment failed”, “CEO needs gift cards”) are classic social engineering. Pause before clicking.

Step 2 — Inspect the raw URL

• Long press or hover to preview (on devices that allow it)
• Watch for lookalikes: rnicrosoft.com, extra hyphens, random subdomains
• Be careful with shorteners and QR codes — expand them first

Step 3 — Confirm in isolation

Paste the link into confirmURL.com. Note the final address after redirects and whether a password form appears.

Step 4 — Verify out-of-band

Open the real site via a bookmark or the official app. Do not trust links inside the message for login.

Step 5 — Report

Forward phishing to your provider and delete the message. If you already entered a password, change it and enable 2FA.

This guide is educational and not a guarantee of safety.