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Before opening an unfamiliar link, reveal its destination and inspect the hostname. If a message asks you to sign in, pay, or act urgently, skip its link and check the request through the organization’s official app or website instead. HTTPS and a browser that shows no warning do not prove a page is legitimate.
Check an unfamiliar link without opening it
- Pause before acting. Unexpected account alerts, threats, prizes, urgent deadlines, and requests for sensitive information are reasons to verify the message independently. Phishing pages can imitate legitimate sites and ask for credentials or financial information. The FTC’s phishing guidance explains how these messages try to get people to click links or open attachments.
- Reveal the destination. On a computer, hover over the link without clicking and inspect the address shown by the browser or email app. On a phone, press and hold the link to preview its destination; the gesture and preview vary by device and app. Microsoft recommends hovering without clicking on a computer. Microsoft’s phishing guidance also advises checking where a link leads.
- Read the hostname carefully. Compare the actual web address with the organization named in the message. Look for misspellings, extra or substituted words, or a domain that does not belong to the claimed organization. A brand name in the message, a familiar logo, or a sender display name is not proof of identity; check the sender address and context too. If the address is confusing, do not try to resolve the uncertainty by clicking.
- Verify important requests another way. For account, payment, or personal-information requests, open a new browser tab or the organization’s official app. Use a saved favorite, type a known address, or find contact details independently; then look for the alert after signing in. Do not use contact details supplied in a suspicious message. Microsoft recommends independent verification when a message claiming to be from a trusted organization may be legitimate.
What HTTPS and browser warnings can—and cannot—tell you
HTTPS protects the connection, not the site’s identity
HTTPS and the connection indicator relate to the security of the connection between your browser and a website. They do not certify that the site is honest or belongs to the organization it claims to represent. Microsoft notes that a valid certificate can coexist with a poor site reputation. Check the hostname and verify why you received the message before entering credentials or payment details. Microsoft Edge safety guidance explains the distinction.
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Take browser warnings seriously
Google Safe Browsing and Microsoft SmartScreen can warn about dangerous sites, phishing pages, or malicious downloads. If your browser displays a warning, stop rather than proceeding. Google describes Safe Browsing as warning users before they visit dangerous sites or download harmful files; its overview says the service protects over five billion devices every day, without specifying a year for that figure. Microsoft Edge’s guidance describes SmartScreen protections.
A warning is a useful reason to stop, but an absent warning is not a safety guarantee. Threat classifications can change, and protection systems cannot establish that every unflagged page is authentic. Manual inspection helps spot impersonation and mismatched context; browser protections add another layer of threat information. Neither replaces independent verification for sensitive requests.
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If you already clicked
Opening a link does not by itself establish what happened. If the page asks for a password, payment, or personal information, do not provide it; leave the page and verify the request through the official app or site. If you entered information, contact the affected organization using independently found contact details and change the relevant password through its official site or app. If the message appears to be phishing, use the email or messaging service’s reporting option; the FTC also accepts reports of phishing attempts.
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