diff --git a/scp.c b/scp.c
index 52476a20..11ba111d 100644
--- a/scp.c
+++ b/scp.c
@@ -1792,7 +1792,9 @@ for (; *ip && (op < oend); ) {
         *op++ = *ip++;                                  /* copy escaped char */
         }
     else 
-        if (*ip == '%') {                               /* sub? */
+        if ((*ip == '%') && 
+            (!isalnum(ip[1])) && 
+            (ip[1] != '\0')) {                          /* sub? */
             if ((ip[1] >= '0') && (ip[1] <= ('9'))) {   /* %n = sub */
                 ap = do_arg[ip[1] - '0'];
                 for (i=0; i<ip[1] - '0'; ++i)           /* make sure we're not past the list end */