Shortened URLs: What are they and why should I care?
Have you ever noticed really long web addresses? (A web address is called URL.) Many people find them annoying to copy and paste, or send to friends, because they are so long. Back in 2002 a website named TinyURL started a service in which you could paste your long URL in one field and TinyURL would produce a short code in another field that represented the long URL.
Their service could take something like this:
and turn it into something like this:
Since 2002, many dozens of URL shortening services have been created. A few of these services allow you to visit their website, enter the shortened URL you may have received and look up where the link points to before clicking. However, most URL shortening services do not offer that ability. And that is why cybercriminals love to use these services! A shortened link HIDES your real destination! As you can guess, this can be very dangerous for you!
Cybercriminals use link shortening services to disguise where a link actually sends you to on the Internet.
Here are several examples of shortening services that have been commonly misused by cybercriminals:
| http://bit.ly | http://is.gd |
| http://kxk.me | http://ity.im |
| http://lnk.co | http://tiny.cc |
| http://ow.ly | http://t.co [Twitter’s shortening service] |
| http://goo.gl [Google’s shortening service] | https://rb.gy |
…and there are many others. Scammers have even misused Digg.com, a popular news reader website. We once posted something on Craig’s List and in less than a day we received 2 emails containing VERY suspicious links to two different Digg.com addresses such as digg.com/u3Uh2F?igjkkwq (Altered to protect from accidental clicks). We contacted Digg.com and then confirmed that it was a trick by scammers to send us to a website that causes a computer infection.
Below are screenshots of two scams that used shortened URL’s. The first was a solicitation we received from Claudine Gonzaels in May, 2025. She claimed to represent a Global PR firm. But rather than include her firm’s website, she included a shortened link. This made us very suspicious!
Here is another dangerous example how cybercriminals use a link shortening service in texts to target you…
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF? (updated 1/28/2026)
Anytime you see a shortened URL, don’t click on it. There are at least 2 tools available to decipher where a shortened link leads to BEFORE you click on it! If you are sent a shortened link and are the least bit suspicious, try copying the short link and pasting it into one of these services to inform you where the link points to:
https://unshorten.it/
https://wheregoes.com/
https://www.ipvoid.com/unshorten-url/