The tricks, named.

Short, honest write-ups of the phishing scenarios IP Tracker checks for, written by the people who built the detector. No fear-mongering, no jargon, no promises we can't keep.

Start here
Got a suspicious email? How to check the sender in one minute

The bold sender name is free text: anyone can be "PayPal Support". A six-check, one-minute routine for finding out who really sent that email, and where IP Tracker fits in.

New trend · Deepfake impostors
If you've already been scammed, you're the next target

The FBI warns of fake IC3 agents in your DMs and deepfake videos of FBI officials, all aimed at people who already lost money. The one check a convincing video can't beat: the address bar.

Seasonal · Back to school
Back-to-school season is scam season: five links worth checking before you pay

Fake tuition portals, loan-forgiveness offers, dorm listings, textbook deals and fundraiser texts all cluster in August. Five links worth checking before any money moves.

Known scenario · Delivery texts
"Your package is stuck in customs": the new tariff delivery text scam

Scammers now text that you owe a tariff or customs fee before a package arrives. Here's why a real USPS text never contains a link, and how to check the one you got.

Known scenario · Fake login pages
The fake Apple, Microsoft, and Google sign-in pages are getting better — here's the one thing to check

Fake sign-in pages look perfect now. Over half of brand phishing hits five logins you use every week. The giveaway is the domain — here's the one thing to check.

Known scenario · Fake travel sites
Booking a trip this summer? That Booking.com login might be a fake

Scammers spin up thousands of fake travel sites (booking-cn, airbnb-ca and friends) that copy the real sign-in page. Check the domain before you type your card in.

Known scenario · Job-offer texts
Got a random job offer text? Check the company's real domain first

The new scam asks you to just reply YES instead of clicking. Before you engage, check the recruiter's email domain against the company's real site.

Known scenario · Bank texts
"Your account was compromised": is that bank text fake?

Bank impostors caused the highest losses of any impersonation scam in 2025, per the FTC. The fastest tell a text is fake: the sender's domain. Here's how to check.

Known scenario · QR codes
Before you scan that QR code: how "quishing" works

Fake QR stickers on parking meters, mailers, and packages route to lookalike payment pages. Your phone shows the address before it opens it — how to read that preview and check the domain.

Em português · Golpe dos Correios
Golpe dos Correios: a "encomenda retida" que cobra taxa via Pix

A mensagem parece dos Correios, o site é um clone e a "taxa alfandegária" vai direto para o golpista. Como ler o domínio e conferir o link antes de pagar qualquer coisa.

Event scam · World Cup tickets
That FIFA World Cup ticket deal might be a fake site: check the address bar first

The FBI warns scammers have spun up lookalike FIFA sites — like wvvw-fifa.com, where the "w" is two v's — selling tickets that don't exist. How to read the address before your card comes out.

New trend · AI answers
AI is inventing fake website names, and scammers are buying them

Chatbots sometimes make up a brand's web address. Scammers register those invented names and turn them into phishing sites. How "phantom squatting" works, and how to check a domain a bot hands you.

Known scenario · Toll texts
Got a text about an unpaid toll? Check the link before you pay a cent

Fake late fees and a 12-hour deadline are designed to make you tap before you think. The sender's domain almost never matches your real toll agency — how to read it before you pay a cent.

Known scenario · Letter swaps
paypa1.com: the letter-swap trick your eyes can't catch

One character separates paypal.com from paypa1.com, and in many fonts you can't see it at all. A plain-English look at the letter-swap trick and how to check for it.

Known scenario · Typos
paypall.com: one letter off, one convincing fake

Read paypall.com fast and your brain sees PayPal. How typo domains hide behind skim-reading, and a ten-second letter-by-letter check that breaks the trick.

Known scenario · Fake subdomains
paypal.com-secure-login.info: read the domain right to left

That link really says paypal.com, and it still isn't PayPal. How scammers bury real brand names inside addresses they own, and the reading habit that spots the trick.

Known scenario · Domain age
Registered 3 days ago: what a domain's age tells you

The email claims twenty years of history; the domain was registered on Tuesday. How to check a domain's age, and how to read it without jumping to conclusions.

Known scenario · Other alphabets
The apple.com you can't see: lookalikes from another alphabet

A domain can look exactly like apple.com and be something else entirely, one letter borrowed from another alphabet. Here's how the invisible lookalike trick works and how to unmask it.

Know your signals
What Google's dangerous-sites list catches (and what it doesn't)

The red warning screen is a strong signal. No warning isn't a clean bill of health. What Google's dangerous-sites list catches, what slips through, and how to layer your checks.