Tips for Mac users

Fake URLs – Avoid clicking on these links !

tvalleau

 

You probably know you should not click on links you get in emails unless you are POSITIVE that they are legit.
 
URLs (links) end with “.com” or “.net” or “.org” or many other legitimate dot-somethings. This will explode with new, and perfectly legitimate ones in the coming couple of years (like “.video” and “.games”).
 
But the key here is END WITH.
 
URLs, like file paths, use separators. The separator is “/” the forward slash.
 
Thus, http://aperturef8.com/privateshow point to the “privateshow” folder at the site “aperturef8.com”. 
 
“aperturef8.com” is separated from “privateshow” by “/”  and so “aperturef8.com” ENDS WITH “.com”
 
Here is a fraudulent URL, which came from an email with a link in it that “Wells Fargo Bank” and urged me to sign in to correct some issue. 
 
By hovering the cursor, BUT NOT CLICKING, over the “Wells Fargo Bank” link, this yellow tag popped up, showing this actual URL.
 
http://online.wellsfargo.com.signon.aspx.dt786686677667t.scrollart.org/
 
With the information you got above, you can see that this is fake. 
 
Yes: it says “online.wellsfargo.com”, but the “.com” is NOT the last thing before the separator. The URL ends with “scrollart.org”.
 
If you click this link, you’re going to “scrollart.org”  NOT to Wells Fargo.
 
So, look for what is before the first single “/” to see where you are really going.
 
Just a friendly reminder.
 
Tracy

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