Urlscan

URL Safety Scanner (urlscan.io)

Submit any URL for analysis and receive a safety verdict, screenshot, and DNS/HTTP metadata. Uses the urlscan.io API.

Requires: Free URLSCAN_API_KEY — sign up at urlscan.io, no credit card needed.

When to Use

• User receives a suspicious link and wants to check it safely
• User wants to verify if a URL is phishing or malware
• User asks "is this link safe?" or "scan this URL for threats"
• Security review of links before sharing them
• OSINT: see what a URL looks like without visiting it yourself

How to Use

Submit a URL for scanning

powershellCopy code
$url    = "https://suspicious-site.example.com"
$key    = $env:URLSCAN_API_KEY
$body   = '{"url": "' + $url + '", "visibility": "unlisted"}'

$submit = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://urlscan.io/api/v1/scan/" `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers @{ "API-Key" = $key; "Content-Type" = "application/json" } `
    -Body $body

Write-Host "Scan submitted!"
Write-Host "UUID:    $($submit.uuid)"
Write-Host "Results: $($submit.result)"
Write-Host "Waiting 30 seconds for scan to complete..."
Start-Sleep -Seconds 30

Retrieve scan results after waiting

powershellCopy code
$uuid   = "PASTE-UUID-FROM-SUBMIT-STEP"
$key    = $env:URLSCAN_API_KEY

$result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://urlscan.io/api/v1/result/$uuid/" `
    -Headers @{ "API-Key" = $key }

Write-Host "Final URL:   $($result.page.url)"
Write-Host "IP:          $($result.page.ip)"
Write-Host "Country:     $($result.page.country)"
Write-Host "Malicious:   $($result.verdicts.overall.malicious)"
Write-Host "Phishing:    $($result.verdicts.overall.phishing)"
Write-Host "Score:       $($result.verdicts.overall.score)"
Write-Host "Screenshot:  https://urlscan.io/screenshots/$uuid.png"

One-shot: submit and wait for result

powershellCopy code
function Scan-Url {
    param([string]$TargetUrl, [string]$ApiKey = $env:URLSCAN_API_KEY)

    $body   = '{"url": "' + $TargetUrl + '", "visibility": "unlisted"}'
    $submit = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://urlscan.io/api/v1/scan/" `
        -Method POST -Headers @{ "API-Key" = $ApiKey; "Content-Type" = "application/json" } `
        -Body $body
    $uuid = $submit.uuid

    Write-Host "Scanning $TargetUrl (uuid: $uuid)..."
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 30

    $result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://urlscan.io/api/v1/result/$uuid/" `
        -Headers @{ "API-Key" = $ApiKey }

    [PSCustomObject]@{
        URL       = $result.page.url
        IP        = $result.page.ip
        Malicious = $result.verdicts.overall.malicious
        Phishing  = $result.verdicts.overall.phishing
        Score     = $result.verdicts.overall.score
        Report    = "https://urlscan.io/result/$uuid/"
    }
}

Scan-Url -TargetUrl "https://example.com"

Examples

"Check if this link is safe: https://bit.ly/abc123" → Submit with visibility "unlisted", wait 30 seconds, retrieve result.

"Scan this suspicious email link for phishing" → Use the one-shot function above. If Phishing = True, warn the user.

"I want to see what this URL looks like without clicking it" → Submit the scan, then use the screenshot URL: https://urlscan.io/screenshots/{uuid}.png

Cautions

• Scans take 20–60 seconds to complete — always wait before fetching results
• "visibility": "public" makes the scan visible to all urlscan.io users — use "unlisted" for sensitive URLs
• Do not scan URLs that contain personal data or credentials in query parameters
• Free tier allows ~5 scans per minute — add delays for bulk scanning
• The API key is required to submit scans; public search results are accessible without a key

Requirements

• URLSCAN_API_KEY — free account at https://urlscan.io (no credit card required)