Free Phishing Link Checker
Instantly check whether a URL is a known phishing, malware, or unwanted-software link.
Need to monitor this across every client domain you manage? ActiScan does bulk scanning, scoring, and white-labeled reporting for MSPs.
How to Use the Phishing Link Checker
Paste a URL
Include the full address, starting with http:// or https://.
Click Check
ActiScan queries Google Safe Browsing's threat database for that exact URL, live.
Read the result
A pass/fail status plus the specific threat type(s) found, if any.
What Your Result Means
FlaggedFailGoogle Safe Browsing has this URL on record as malware, social engineering (phishing), unwanted software, or a potentially harmful application. Don't visit it, click it, or forward it to anyone else.
No known threatsPassGoogle Safe Browsing has no record of this exact URL as malicious. That's a good sign, but not an absolute guarantee – brand-new phishing pages can exist for hours before any threat database catches up.
What is a Phishing Link?
A phishing link is a URL that leads somewhere designed to impersonate a legitimate site – a bank, a login page, a shipping notice – in order to steal credentials, payment details, or personal information from whoever clicks it. The same underlying infrastructure is often reused to distribute malware or unwanted software instead of, or alongside, a fake login form.
This checker queries Google Safe Browsing's Lookup API for the exact URL you paste. Safe Browsing maintains a continuously updated list of sites known to host malware, phishing pages, unwanted software, or harmful applications – the same database behind the warning pages Chrome, Firefox, and Gmail show for dangerous links.
Threat Types This Checker Flags
| Threat type | What it means |
|---|---|
| MALWARE | The page is known to host or distribute malicious software. |
| SOCIAL_ENGINEERING | Google's term for phishing – pages designed to trick visitors into handing over credentials or personal information. |
| UNWANTED_SOFTWARE | The page pushes software that behaves in unexpected or unwanted ways, even if not outright malicious. |
| POTENTIALLY_HARMFUL_APPLICATION | Flags apps associated with the page that Google classifies as potentially harmful. |
Common Phishing Link Red Flags
Worth checking by eye even when a link comes back clean:
Typosquatting
A domain that's one character off from the real one – e.g. paypa1.com or micros0ft-support.com – counting on a quick misread.
Look-alike domains
A brand name tacked onto an unrelated domain, like paypal-secure-login.com, or hidden behind a subdomain: paypal.com.evil.net.
Urgency language
"Your account will be suspended," "verify now," or a countdown timer – designed to make you click before you think.
Next Steps After Your Check
Link flagged?
Don't visit or forward it. If it arrived by email, check the message's headers for spoofing signs too.
Analyze the email headers →Worried about your own domain being spoofed?
A strong DMARC policy stops attackers from sending look-alike mail as your domain.
Check your DMARC record →Want ongoing monitoring?
ActiScan scans on a schedule and alerts you when something changes – across every domain you manage.
Start free →Frequently Asked Questions
Is this phishing link checker free?
Yes – check any URL for free, no signup required.
Do I need to own the URL I'm checking?
No. This checks a public threat database against the URL you paste – anyone can look one up.
Where does the threat data come from?
Google Safe Browsing's Lookup API – the same continuously updated database Chrome, Firefox, and Gmail use to warn users about dangerous sites.
A site I know is bad came back clean – why?
No threat database is instant or complete. Brand-new phishing pages can exist for hours or days before they're indexed. A clean result means nothing is on record yet, not a guarantee of safety.
What's the difference between this and antivirus software?
This checks a specific URL against a known-threat list. Antivirus software scans files and running processes on your device – the two catch different things and aren't a substitute for each other.