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Link checker — is this URL safe?

Paste any link to instantly check if it is safe, phishing, or a scam. Works on shortened URLs (bit.ly, t.co), QR codes, SMS links, and DMs. No account needed.

Check a link now Or paste a screenshot

Expands shorteners

Resolves bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl and 30+ shorteners to the real destination before scoring.

Brand impersonation

Detects letter-swap and homoglyph attacks — binnance, metarnask, ledqer — used by wallet drainers.

Community-verified

Cross-references 12,000+ confirmed scam entries plus live reports from the GACS community.

How the GACS link checker works

Paste a URL and the scanner runs the same checks a fraud analyst would, in parallel: WHOIS / registration age, TLS certificate issuer and validity, hosting ASN reputation, brand-name similarity (homograph and look-alike domain detection), content fingerprinting against known phishing kits, and a lookup against the community blacklist. You get a single verdict with the reasoning behind it — never a black-box score.

When to use a URL checker

  • A link arrived in an unexpected SMS, DM, or email.
  • A QR code in public asked you to "verify your wallet" or "claim a refund".
  • A Google Ad sent you to what looks like the real exchange — but the URL is off.
  • A "support agent" replied to your public complaint with a help link.
  • You are about to enter a password, card, or seed phrase on a site you did not type by hand.

What a green verdict actually means

Green means "no red flags found right now." It is not a guarantee. Brand-new scam domains and freshly-cloned phishing sites can land green for the first few hours until reports come in. Pair the checker verdict with the basics: never share a seed phrase, never pay an "unlock" or "tax" fee, and never trust a recovery DM.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if a link is safe?

Copy the URL (do not click it), paste it into the GACS link checker, and you get a verdict in under five seconds. The scanner expands shorteners, checks domain age, SSL issuer, hosting history, brand-impersonation patterns, and cross-references 12,000+ confirmed scam entries plus live community reports.

Is this URL safe to open?

If GACS returns green and the domain is older than 90 days, it is almost certainly safe to load in a normal browser tab. Still never enter your seed phrase, password, or card details on a page you cannot independently verify. Green means 'no red flags found right now' — not a guarantee.

Can I check a link from a text message or DM?

Yes. Copy the link from the message (long-press on mobile, right-click → copy on desktop) without tapping it. Paste into the checker. If the link is a shortener like bit.ly or t.co, the checker resolves the final destination before scoring it.

What makes a URL suspicious?

Common red flags: the domain is under 30 days old, the brand name has an extra word or hyphen (binance-login, ledger-support, metamask-help), the URL uses letter swaps (rn for m, 0 for o), the page asks for a seed phrase or 'wallet validation', or the link reached you through a DM, ad, or unsolicited email.

Is the GACS link checker really free?

Yes — every check is free, no account required, no per-query limit for normal use. GACS is funded by public donations and runs ad-free. The same engine powers the browser extension and the public API.

How is this different from VirusTotal or Google Safe Browsing?

VirusTotal aggregates antivirus engines, which catch known malware files. Google Safe Browsing flags long-established phishing pages. Both miss the freshly-spun crypto scam, fake exchange, or pig-butchering broker domain registered yesterday. GACS adds crowd-sourced reports, AI text analysis of the page itself, and crypto-specific signals (drainer scripts, fake-exchange clones) that the generalists do not see.

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