How I built a scam-link checker on Jev

Scam links are built to look normal: a parcel fee, a tax refund, a short link from a friend. You can't tell where a link goes by reading it. So I built Peekray, a free Chrome extension and phone page that shows where a link really goes before you click, with one answer: Safe, Check first or Scam.

Lists first, then Jev. Peekray follows short links and redirects on its server, up to four hops. Then it looks the final address up in three public threat lists: OpenPhish, PhishTank and URLhaus. Lists are fast and certain, but they only know scams someone has already reported. A scam site registered this morning isn't on any of them.

That gap is where Jev, TypeSafe AI's decision model, comes in. I didn't want a chatbot writing a paragraph about each link. I wanted a decision my code could act on, fast enough to show while your pointer is still on the link.

One call, four questions. For each link no list knows, Peekray makes one Jev call. The state is the link, where it really lands, the redirect chain, how many days ago the domain was registered, and about 30 yes/no signals, such as a lookalike brand name, payment words or a free website host. Jev answers four questions together:

1. Is this likely phishing or a scam? (yes/no)
2. Does the visible link text name a different site from the real address? (yes/no)
3. Is it spammy or misleading? (yes/no)
4. Overall: Safe, Suspicious or Scam? (a choice)

Each answer comes back with a probability, so Peekray can be strict where it matters.

Guardrails. Text from the page is treated as untrusted: it is shortened, email addresses and long numbers are removed, and a page title that tries to talk to the checker is dropped. Peekray's own rules can make Jev's answer more careful, never less. If a call hangs, a second one starts after 2.5 seconds and the first answer wins. If Jev is unavailable, a rule-based check answers instead of failing. Answers are cached for 10 minutes.

Speed. On a fake parcel-fee link, Jev decided in 0.19 seconds. Across 40 live checks the median was 0.17 seconds, so most checks finish in under a second from hover to tag.

What I just tuned. Obvious fake payment and sign-in pages used to come back Suspicious rather than Scam. Now strong signals, such as a lookalike brand on a payment or login page, take them straight to Scam.

Privacy. Only the link you hover, focus or click is checked, with its text and the page title. Never passwords, forms or cookies. No account.

Try it without installing at peekray.com/share, or get it for Chrome: chromewebstore.google.com/detail/peekray/bmiolholodlhbdfecjihpkencpccknjp. I'd love to hear about any link it gets wrong.