Your private scam sense-check

Is This a Scam?

Tick the warning signs you notice. The meter reacts instantly.

Live risk reading

Looks calm — stay alert anyway.

No warning signs ticked yet. Real offers survive a second look — take your time.

Next move: Pause and verify the contact using a number you found yourself.

Quick start

What kind of contact is this?

Choose one to highlight the warning signs worth checking. Nothing is selected for you.

Pick the closest situation, then review the highlighted signs.

Tick every warning sign you noticed

Amber highlights are suggestions only — tick the box only if it happened.

Pressure & urgency

Money & payment requests

Identity & account access

Offers that seem too good

Common scams in 2026

Know the shape of a scam and you will spot it faster. Here are five doing the rounds right now.

AI voice & video clone

Scammers can now copy a loved one's voice or face from a few seconds of video and call you in a panic, begging for money. Do not act on the call itself. Hang up and phone that person back on the number you already have saved — a quick agreed-upon family password helps too.

Bank impersonation

A text or call says your account is under attack and you must move your money to a "safe account". No real bank ever asks you to do that — the safe account is the scammer's. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card to check for yourself.

Phishing links

A link in a message can lead to a fake login page that looks perfect but quietly steals your password. Look closely at the real web address, and when in doubt do not tap — open the app or type the address yourself instead.

Fake online shops

A brand-new website with prices too low to be real, no proper address, and only chat-app contact is usually a trap that takes your payment and vanishes. Search the shop's name plus the word "scam", and pay by a method you can dispute rather than a direct transfer.

Romance & investment

Someone charming from online builds trust for weeks, then introduces a "guaranteed returns" investment or a sudden emergency — yet somehow can never meet in person. Guaranteed profits plus never meeting is your cue to walk away and talk to someone you trust.

Guidance drawn from public advice by CFPB, AARP, and ScamAdviser.

Already paid? Act now

If money has already left your hands, quick action can still limit the damage. Work down this list.

997NSRC · Open 24/7

  1. Call your bank right away — ask them to freeze the card and try to recall or stop the transfer. Minutes matter.
  2. Change the passwords for your bank, email, and anything reused, and switch on two-factor (2FA) everywhere you can.
  3. Report it to the police and your national anti-scam hotline — an official report can help freeze funds and is often needed for any refund.
  4. Keep all the evidence: screenshots, phone numbers, account names, receipts, and the messages. Do not delete anything.
  5. Do not feel ashamed — these scams fool careful people every day. Reporting fast is what saves money; scammers count on your silence.