Wanted: Service Detecting 301 redirects?

[Mr.Domains]

Does anyone know a way of detecting if a user has arrived at your site via a 301 redirect from another domain, either using JavaScript, PHP, or whatever?

Basically, I work for a UN organization, and a scammer is trying to fool people into sending them info, donations etc, by using an email address which is a typo of our domain. To make it look like they are legit, they also have a 301 redirect so that if anyone tries the domain in a browser it looks like they are at the genuine UN agencies website.

What we want to do is pop-up a window if the user is coming from the false domain, saying, "Please be aware that xxxxx.com is in no way affiliated with the UN, and and it is strongly advises not to respond to any communications originating from this address" etc...

But because the redirect is at server level, (I'm assuming htaccess 301), there is no "HTTP-REFERRER" value, or way of telling that they were redirected. Does anyone know a way arround this?
Thanks,

Neil

 

[David G]

IMO, what is going on is not related to a 301 or any other kind of redirect. It's likely simple code inserted in their index page which shows the visitor a different and false url than the one you are really on. It's done all the time by the phishing email scams.

There is no way for you to know about it or intercept them and put up a popup window as you want to do. If posssible places like ebay, paypal and the banks would have done it long ago.

 

[Mr.Domains]

No that's not the case. If they were doing a redirect via there index page then there would be an HTTP-REFERRER value, as the user would be being referred from an http address, and I could easily catch those.

There is no index page on their site, the redirect is happening at the server level, so that their domain actually resolves to our site, not forwarding using a meta-redirect, window.location, 100% frameset, or any of the other usual tricks that would have been easy to catch.

 

[David G]

How do you know they do not have an index page? Also, if it really resolves to your site I see no way they could then superimpose or add their own typo email address blended into your site. Anyway, it all seems impossible for it to happen as you describe it but I could be wrong of course.

 

[katherine]

Can you check the incoming HTTP headers
and see if you have something else than
HTTP/1.1 200