🔗 Is This Link Safe? Checking Before You Click: Free Lesson Plan

Read a web address, spot fakes, and use a free link checker.

Time: 30 minutes

Supplies

Step 1: Welcome (5 min)
Say: "Scam texts almost always include a link. Today you will learn to read a link like a detective."
Step 2: Reading a link (10 min)
On the screen, show "usps.com" next to "usps-delivery-help.top". Say: "The real name is the part right before .com, .gov, or .org, and just before the first slash. Fakes add extra words or use strange endings."
Step 3: Live check (10 min)
Open aiseniors.app/tools/link-checker. Paste in a few made-up example links and read the plain-language result together. Say: "This is free, and it works on our site. Nothing to install."
Step 4: Wrap up (5 min)
Hand out the handout. Remind everyone: when in doubt, do not click. Go to the website yourself by typing it in.

Leader tip: Only paste made-up or known example links during class, never a member’s personal account link.