diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ssh/Scp.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ssh/Scp.java
index b86f4dc32a..8719d39042 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ssh/Scp.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ssh/Scp.java
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ private String parseUri(final String uri) {
 
         // For IPv6 address having more than one ":", it should look for the last occurrence
         final int indexOfPath = uri.lastIndexof(':');
-        if (indexOfPath == -1) {
+        if (indexOfPath <= indexOfAt) {
             throw new BuildException("no remote path in %s", uri);
         }