Scam CheckupA calm second opinion on worrying messagesA service of scottauld.org

Got a text, email or link that made your stomach drop a little? Paste it below and we'll tell you what we notice, in plain English.

Type or paste the words from the message

Include any link exactly as it appears. Pictures and screenshots can't be checked, so please copy the words.

Who is it from? (optional)

The phone number or email address it came from, if you know it.

Website

How sure are we?

What we noticed

About the links

Shown with the dots broken up so they can't be tapped by accident.

No red flags doesn't mean guaranteed safe. If you don't know who sent it, don't reply with personal details.

What to do next

Don't click the link, call the number in it, or reply.
If it claims to be your bank or a company, contact them yourself using the number on the back of your card or a website you type in yourself.
Spam text: forward it to 7726 (spells SPAM) to report it to your phone company.
Phishing email (a fake email fishing for your information): forward it to reportphishing@apwg.org.
Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Already sent money or shared information? Call your bank right away, then report it at ic3.gov.
Want to talk it through with a person? The AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline is 877-908-3360, weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.

Advisory provided by Google

A free community tool by Scott Auld. Not law enforcement, not the government, and not connected to any bank or company.

How this works

Paste a worrying text, email or link and tap Check it. We tell you, in plain English, what looks off.

A free community tool by Scott Auld. Not law enforcement or the government, and not connected to any bank or company. We will never contact you.

What we check

Words: common scam tricks, like rushing you, asking for gift cards or demanding secrecy.
Links: lists of known scam websites kept on our server, plus copycat names like "paypa1". Shortened links are pointed out, never opened.
Website age: brand-new sites are a red flag. Only the site's name, like example.com, goes to the public registry.
Spamhaus: only the site's name is checked against its spam and scam list.
Google Safe Browsing: only a short scrambled code from each link is sent to Google, never the link or your message. Google's warnings say "Advisory provided by Google."
Sender: if you add it, we check things like a "bank" writing from a free email account.

The rating is Looks Risky, Be Careful or No Obvious Red Flags, and the dots show how sure we are. No checker is perfect, so when in doubt, call the company using the number on your card or its official website.

Your privacy

Your message is checked, then thrown away. Nobody reads it.
We never open the links you paste.
No accounts, cookies, ads or trackers.
The visit counter never records your IP address.
A scrambled anti-robot count is erased within about an hour.
Standard server logs are kept up to two weeks and never include what you pasted.

Scam lists: Phishing.Database (MIT License), URLhaus by abuse.ch, Spamhaus, Google Safe Browsing. Website ages come from official public registries.

All scottauld.org services are Value for Value.