Bitly is a URL shortening service for use in social networks, e-mail and SMS, shortening 600 million links per month. Bitly uses a long URL to turn the entire link into a shorter sequence of numbers and letters. Unfortunately, scammers abuse this tool to hide links behind shortened URLs. There are several ways scammers can use Bitly links. A scammer may steal your information by maliciously copying a website and creating a redirect path to make you visit it. Inappropriate or unsafe content and hidden destinations are other risks a shortened link may possess. You can use Link-Tracker, a free online short link checker, to avoid such risks. You can check URLs, find redirects where a short link is pointing, preview a snapshot of the content before visiting and even verify if the target page is virus safe.