{"id":21365,"date":"2025-08-13T11:44:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/?p=21365"},"modified":"2025-08-13T11:44:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:44:31","slug":"malicious-links-what-they-are-and-how-to-protect-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/malicious-links-what-they-are-and-how-to-protect-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Malicious links: what they are and how to protect yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every day, millions of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0cell phone users <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">receive <\/span><b>malicious links<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> via SMS, email, or social media. These scams are growing more sophisticated\u2014scammers now commonly use artificial intelligence to create error-free and even personally tailored messages.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Common tactics used by scammers<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Shortened or masked links:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Attackers use shortened URLs or complex domain names to obscure the true destination, making it difficult to spot a dangerous link before clicking.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Deceptive promises and urgency:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Phishing messages often promise sweepstakes winnings, flash sales, package deliveries, or urgent bank notifications to lure users into clicking quickly without thinking.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fake websites and data entry forms:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Clicking a malicious link may redirect you to a convincing fake website where you\u2019re asked to input sensitive details\u2014like banking data, Social Security numbers, or passwords\u2014or may silently trigger a malware download.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Impersonation tactics:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Scammers frequently impersonate trusted organizations\u2014such as banks, government agencies (e.g., IRS), or online retailers\u2014to legitimize their claims and increase the likelihood of success.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Social media exploits:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> On platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, fake profiles or posts lure users with job offers, urgent security warnings, or giveaway announcements, often prompting users to click malicious links or divulge private information.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Real-world impact<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Financial loss and data theft:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> These attacks can result in financial fraud, identity theft, and corporate data breaches.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Malware and ransomware:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Malicious links can install viruses or ransomware on personal or work devices, sometimes encrypting files and demanding a ransom in return for data restoration.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Tips to Protect Yourself<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Preview before clicking:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> On a desktop, hover your mouse over a link to reveal its destination. On mobile, press and hold the link for a preview. Avoid clicking if the destination looks suspicious or is unfamiliar.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Beware of unknown senders:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Avoid clicking on links from unknown or unsolicited sources, whether by email, text, or direct message.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Look for signs of deception:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Watch for URL misspellings, extra symbols or hyphens, unrecognized domain names, and urgent language or threats of account suspension.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Use security solutions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Consider security tools like URL defenses or anti-phishing filters offered by major security providers and popular email services.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Be skeptical of official requests:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> U.S. government agencies like the IRS or USPS will not demand personal data or payment over email or text. Always verify through official channels if in doubt. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Report suspicious messages:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You can report phishing attempts to authorities like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or, in the case of IRS-related scams, to phishing@irs.gov.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ready to take your mobile security to the next level?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discover how <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.psafe.msuite&amp;hl=pt_BR\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dfndr security <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can help protect your devices and data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every day, millions of \u00a0cell phone users receive malicious links via SMS, email, or social media. These scams are growing more sophisticated\u2014scammers now commonly use artificial intelligence to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":21366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4488],"tags":[12462],"class_list":["post-21365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","category-security-alerts","tag-destaques"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21367,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21365\/revisions\/21367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}