5.1.4 Redirecting the URL
A URL can be further obscured by using a redirection service. For example, cjb.net and tinyurl.com provide redirection services that assign the user an alias for the user’s specified URL. For example, a URL such as “http://tinyurl.com/3” is provided by tinyurl.com when the user enters a URL into the site. When a redirection service is used, the provided link sends the user to the service site and the service site then forwards the user to the intended site. This serviceis useful for replacing long URLs, but unfortunately it can be abused by fraudsters because it hides the true destination of the link.
Some fraudsters have even gone to the effort to redirect their URL twice. The link “http://r.aol.com/cgi/redir?http://jne9rrfj4.CjB.neT/?uudzQYRgY1GNEn” was found in a fraudulent Iobbank email message which shows a double-redirect. First the browser is sent to “http://r.aol.com/cgi.”
Then the browser is redirected to “http://jne9rrfj4.CjB.neT/?uudzQYRgY1GNEn,” which an alias
is provided by cjb.net. Finally cjb.net redirects the browser a second time to the intended Web page (the actual URL is stored at cjb.net and is accessed through the cjb.net alias)