diff --git a/policyhandler/handlepullpolicies.go b/policyhandler/handlepullpolicies.go
index 858ea5d9..ddceff4b 100644
--- a/policyhandler/handlepullpolicies.go
+++ b/policyhandler/handlepullpolicies.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package policyhandler
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/armosec/kubescape/cautils"
 	"github.com/armosec/kubescape/cautils/armotypes"
@@ -24,6 +25,9 @@ func (policyHandler *PolicyHandler) GetPoliciesFromBackend(notification *opapoli
 					exceptionPolicies = append(exceptionPolicies, recExceptionPolicies...)
 				}
 			} else if err != nil {
+				if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "unsupported protocol scheme") {
+					err = fmt.Errorf("failed to download from GitHub release, try running with `--use-default` flag")
+				}
 				return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("kind: %v, name: %s, error: %s", rule.Kind, rule.Name, err.Error())
 			}