Finally getting around to this. After some experimenting, it looks like the FileURLAt(0) string is unique to the version/state of the file at load time, i.e., when you open the file with FileChooser. If the file is then changed, the original FileURLAt(0) string is no longer valid as it's pointing to a file that's no longer there in its original state. After the file was changed, if I try to open the original URL string in the browser, I get:
Your file couldn’t be accessed: It may have been moved, edited, or deleted.
ERR_UPLOAD_FILE_CHANGED
Good idea tho and was worth trying, thanks for the suggestion.