Discord has been experiencing an outrage of scam links, which put user’s accounts, personal information, and IP addresses in the hands of scammers and/or hackers. There’s some good news, these scams are totally preventable! This article will discuss how to protect yourself — and your friends from harmful scams.
Link Diagnosis
- Trusted/Secure Links are links that can be trusted to visit/click on.
- Scam/Insecure Links are links that should be avoided and not visited.
This section will breakdown how you identify secure and insecure links.
Does the domain have a weird spelling?
If a domain has weird, or unusual spelling; that could mean it’s a scam link. For example, discord.com is the official Discord site; while something like dlscird.com is not.
Is it out of context?
If a user sends you a link completely out of context of your previous discussions (or if you’ve never talked to them) then you can bet on it being untrustworthy.
Was the link sent by a friend?
At first glance, you would assume this makes the link more trustworthy. But, it could be that their account has been compromised/hacked; so still, be careful when clicking links from friends.
Too good to be true?
Free Nitro scams are extremely common. If you get a DM from a random user/bot, telling you that you won something or can earn Nitro; just ignore it and block that user/bot.
Asking for your password / user token?
If the site is asking for your personal information, and the site seems unofficial; then don’t input it. You should only share your Discord password via Discord’s official login page. Never share your Discord password/user token in public channels, DMs, or with any other user.
System Messages
If a message is official by Discord, there will be a ‘system’ badge next to the system-user’s name, like:
Discord Offical Links
The following is a list of all official Discord links that are operated by Discord themselves and can be fully trusted.
- discordapp.com
- discordapp.net
- discord.com
- discord.dev
- discord.new
- discord.gift
- discord.gifts
- discord.media
- discord.gg
- discord.co
- discord.app
- dis.gd
- watchanimeattheoffice.com
Common Scams
Files
Files are like links, treat them with the same care. Avoid downloading non-image/text files like .exe is a file type, you probably should avoid downloading; generally. Also, don’t fall for these types of scams:
Ending
Keep being safe and smart, and notify your friends about this subject as well, as it could really affect any social media user. Some quick points:
- Never reveal your User Token or Passwords to others!
- Make sure the link your clicking is fully trustworthy.
