Is this link safe?
UK phishing URLs follow seven repeating patterns — lookalike domains, free TLDs, recently-registered hosts. Spot the patterns or paste any link into SilentID Safety Check.
Free download. iOS & Android. UK-first.
A link is likely unsafe if it uses a lookalike or recently-registered domain, a free TLD (.top, .shop, .live), a shortener you can’t expand, hides the brand inside the URL path rather than the registered domain, or asks for full card details, passwords or one-time codes after the click. Paste any URL into SilentID Safety Check in the app — 3 free checks per day, no signup.
Why a link checker matters
Almost every UK consumer scam — phishing email, smishing text, fake retailer ad, marketplace deposit scam — funnels into a single click on a link. Stop the click and you stop most of the loss. UK Finance puts annual fraud losses at over £2.7 billion, and the National Cyber Security Centre’s Suspicious Email Reporting Service has taken down millions of UK phishing pages off the back of public reports (Source: NCSC).
A link checker isn’t about being technical — it’s about having a 5-second pause before you click. That’s the entire difference between a good day and an Action Fraud report.
How to check a link in the SilentID app
- 01
Long-press the link to copy
On iOS and Android, long-press the link in any email, text or message → Copy. Do not tap.
- 02
Open SilentID and tap Safety Check
Paste the URL into Safety Check. No signup needed for the first 3 checks of the day.
- 03
Read the verdict and signals
"Looks safe", "Suspicious" or "Likely scam" — with the specific signals (domain age, lookalike pattern, free TLD, redirect chain, scam-database hits) listed.
- 04
Decide your next step
If clean and from a sender you trust, click. If suspicious, delete the message and forward the original to report@phishing.gov.uk (email) or 7726 (text).
7 URL fraud signals to check yourself
Even without the app, you can clear most suspicious links in seconds once you know what to look at — and what to ignore.
Lookalike or typosquat domain
rnyaccount-lloyds.co.uk vs myaccount-lloyds.co.uk, paypall.co.uk vs paypal.co.uk. Punycode characters, hyphenated brand names and one-letter swaps are the bread and butter of phishing pages.
Recently-registered domain
A "Royal Mail redelivery" link on a domain registered four days ago is not Royal Mail. Genuine UK brands operate on long-established domains.
Free or unusual TLD
.top, .shop, .live, .icu, .xyz, .click — these TLDs are cheap, anonymous and over-represented in phishing campaigns. Real UK banks, retailers and government use .co.uk, .com or .gov.uk.
Shortened or redirected link
bit.ly, tinyurl, t.co, custom shorteners. Shorteners hide the real destination — fine when you trust the source, dangerous when you don't.
Brand name in path, not domain
scam.example.com/lloyds-bank-login is not Lloyds — it's example.com pretending to be Lloyds in the URL path. The brand only counts when it's the registered domain (the bit before .co.uk or .com).
Asks for credentials, codes or full card details
Once you click and the page asks for your bank password, account number, full card details or a one-time code, walk away. No legitimate UK login page asks for full card details just to log in.
Reported in scam databases
Cross-checked against scam-report databases (NCSC, ScamAdviser, the SilentID community). A URL with prior scam reports is statistically very unlikely to be safe.
Reading a UK URL the safe way
The registered domain is what matters
In https://login.example.com/lloyds-bank-secure, the registered domain is example.com, not Lloyds. Anything before the registered domain (subdomains) and anything after it (paths) can be made up freely. Always read right-to-left from the TLD: that’s where the real ownership lives.
Free TLDs and recently-registered domains
Genuine UK banks, retailers and government bodies operate on long-established .co.uk, .com or .gov.uk domains. A “Royal Mail” link on a .top domain registered yesterday is not Royal Mail — full stop. Safety Check looks at registration date and country to flag this automatically.
Shorteners and redirect chains
Shorteners hide the real destination. Some are legitimate (every social network uses one). The risk is that you can’t see the final URL until after you’ve clicked. Safety Check expands shorteners and screens the final destination — so you can verify before clicking.
If a link turns out to be a scam
- Phishing email link: forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk (NCSC).
- Smishing text link: forward the text to 7726 (free, all UK networks).
- Money has moved: call your bank fraud team immediately (number on the back of your card) and report to Action Fraud within 24 hours.
- Generate a PDF evidence pack in SilentID Pro — designed to be accepted by Action Fraud, the bank and the impersonated brand.
UK fraud & phishing — the numbers
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Check the link before you click
Download SilentID — paste any URL into Safety Check. 3 free checks per day, no signup.
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Reviewed by the SilentID editorial team. We update each guide quarterly with new UK fraud data.