etc.
etc.ac.nz presents itself as the English Teaching College, a New Zealand language school with three campuses, yet 2 antivirus engines flagged the URL as malicious.
At a glance
Antivirus · registration · identity- 2 engines classified the URL as malicious and 1 as suspicious; 56 returned harmless, 33 returned undetected, and 0 returned no usable result.
- Operator identity: Identified. Consistent operator details are present
- Google Safe Browsing returned no listed threat categories for this address at scan time.
- The isolated page observation recorded 8 requests and did not mark the page as malicious.
- The site presented a valid TLSv1.3 certificate at scan time.
Intelligence
The site claims to be a long-established NZQA-registered language school offering English programmes across Palmerston North, Lower Hutt, and Wellington, with visible phone numbers, a domain email, and postal addresses; however, the malicious classification overrides these surface signals.
Evidence Map
One or more reputation sources recorded a concern
Consistent operator details are present
Only partial behavior evidence was available
No reliable registration history was saved
- 12 antivirus engines flagged the URL as malicious
- 2Primary category assigned as Phishing / Credential Theft
- 1Valid TLSv1.3 certificate presented
- 2Domain email and multiple phone numbers listed
- 3No login form or deceptive urgency copy observed
English Teaching College homepage
The captured page displays the title "English Teaching College - ETC | Over 25 Years of Excellence" and describes ETC as a multicultural language school with campuses in Palmerston North, Lower Hutt, and Wellington.
Visible contact fields include the domain email office@etc.ac.nz, multiple phone numbers, three postal addresses, and links to three social profiles.
The page lists NZQA ratings, student testimonials, programme details, and an "Enrol Now" call-to-action, with no login forms or countdown timers observed.
Technical and security observations
The site served a valid TLSv1.3 certificate and produced a single-hop redirect with no cross-domain, homoglyph, or internationalized-domain indicators.
Google Safe Browsing returned no listed threat categories, and the hosting IP carried an abuse-confidence score of 0/100.
Despite these clean signals, two antivirus engines classified the URL as malicious and one as suspicious.
Visitor journey and operator identity
The observed journey leads to standard school information pages, enquiry forms, and campus details without deceptive urgency copy or visual clone indicators.
Operator identity is listed only through the contact fields present on the page; no independent verification of the claimed educational institution was recorded.
Website Preview
The website appears to be a legitimate educational institution's homepage with no visible signs of a scam or malicious activity.
- 1Professional website layout for an educational institution
- 2Contains clear contact information including a phone number and email address
- 3Uses consistent branding and navigation menus
- 4No indicators of deceptive urgency or malicious intent
Web Research
Threat Detection
Antivirus results, browser warnings, isolated page observations, and the threat pattern identified in this report.
Antivirus engine results
Evidence behind this threat profile
- 12 antivirus engines flagged the URL as malicious
- 2Primary category assigned as Phishing / Credential Theft
1 of 22 categories showed signals
This profile separates the site's primary threat from other patterns supported by the saved page evidence, public research, and security findings.
- Title and meta description describe a real NZQA-registered language school with three physical campuses
- Page displays verifiable NZQA category ratings and direct quotes from a 2022 NZQA report
- Lists concrete physical addresses and local New Zealand phone numbers for Palmerston North, Wellington, Lower Hutt and Auckland
- Loads legitimate external domains (immigration.govt.nz, maps.googleapis.com) consistent with an education provider
- Visual analysis confirms professional educational layout with no deceptive urgency or scam indicators
- Antivirus detections limited to two phishing flags with no sandbox or blocklist confirmation
Technical Details
Identity, domain, infrastructure, and connection facts saved with this scan.
July 21, 2026 at 5:04 AM UTCIdentity
6 facts- Operator
- Identified
- On-domain email
- 1 address
- Other email
- Not observed
- Phone
- 7 numbers
- Postal address
- 3 addresses
- Social profiles
- 3 links
Domain
8 facts- Domain age
- Unavailable
- Registered
- Unavailable
- Registrar
- Unavailable
- Expires
- Unavailable
- WHOIS updated
- Unavailable
- Registrant
- Unavailable
- Registration country
- Unavailable
- WHOIS privacy
- Unavailable
Infrastructure
14 facts- HTTPS
- Valid certificate
- TLS protocol
- TLSv1.3
- Certificate issuer
- Let's Encrypt · YR1
- Certificate subject
- etc.ac.nz
- Certificate valid from
- Jun 22, 2026
- Certificate valid to
- Sep 20, 2026
- Network address
- 121.79.226.87
- ASN
- AS17705
- Hosting organization
- INSPIRENET-AS-AP - InSPire Net Ltd, NZ
- Country
- NZ
- Server
- nginx
- Site platform
- WordPress
- IP reputation
- 0% confidence · 0 reports
- Tor exit node
- No
Connections
13 facts- Scan scope
- Domain
- Destination host
- www.etc.ac.nz
- Redirects
- 1
- Cross-domain redirect
- No
- Redirect status codes
- 301 → 200
- Lookalike characters
- Not observed
- Internationalized domain
- No
- Page response
- 200
- Observation coverage
- Complete
- Extracted links
- 8
- Unique IPs contacted
- 0
- Countries contacted
- 2
- Referenced domains
- 7
What to do
Do not enter any personal information or credentials on this site; treat the URL as high-risk for phishing.
If you entered a password, change it on the official service by typing its known address yourself, enable two-factor authentication, and review recent account activity. Contact your bank if you also entered payment details.
Final Verdict
Why this verdict
The verdict is malicious because the domain is categorized as Phishing / Credential Theft despite the page showing a professional educational layout, valid TLS certificate, and listed contact details.
Do not enter any personal information or credentials on this site; treat the URL as high-risk for phishing.
Key evidence
- 12 antivirus engines flagged the URL as malicious
- 2Primary category assigned as Phishing / Credential Theft
- 32 engines classified the URL as malicious and 1 as suspicious; 56 returned harmless, 33 returned undetected, and 0 returned no usable result.
Safety FAQ
Is etc.ac.nz safe to use?+
The verdict is malicious because the domain is categorized as Phishing / Credential Theft despite the page showing a professional educational layout, valid TLS certificate, and listed contact details.
What should I do about etc.ac.nz?+
Do not enter any personal information or credentials on this site; treat the URL as high-risk for phishing.
How old is etc.ac.nz?+
A reliable public registration date was not available for etc.ac.nz.
What if I already interacted with etc.ac.nz?+
If you entered a password, change it on the official service by typing its known address yourself, enable two-factor authentication, and review recent account activity. Contact your bank if you also entered payment details.
When was this report updated?+
This report reflects the scan completed July 21, 2026 at 5:04 AM UTC.
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