Suspicious message, link, or call
Emails, texts, QR codes, delivery notices, fake login pages, pop-ups, and support calls.
Online & In-Person Scam Prevention
Trusted guidance for online and
in-person scam prevention.
Make sense of suspicious messages, scam calls, risky links, payment requests, account changes, and personal information concerns. Find practical next steps before you act, after something happens, or when you need to report it.
Start with what you need right now
Choose the path that matches the moment you are in. You can always move from one path to another if the situation changes.
Something already happened
Use this if you clicked, paid, shared information, shared a code, installed something, or noticed an account, phone, or payment change.
Find next stepsYou are about to act
Use this before clicking, paying, replying, sharing a code, entering information, installing something, or trusting an online request.
Check before actingYou need to report or save details
Use this when you need to save screenshots, payment details, messages, profiles, links, or find official reporting paths.
Find reporting optionsBefore you act
Use these checks before a risky online or in-person step turns into a payment, login, download, private conversation, or meeting you cannot easily undo.
Before you click a link
Check who sent it, where it leads, whether it asks you to log in, and whether you can verify it in the real app or website.
Check link safetyBefore you send money
Pause for payment apps, gift cards, crypto, wires, bank transfers, deposits, shipping fees, refunds, and pressure to act fast.
Check payment riskBefore you share a code or password
Treat one-time codes, login links, password resets, and recovery prompts as private, especially when someone contacted you first.
Check account safetyBefore you trust a store, listing, or profile
Look at the URL, reviews, price, profile behavior, payment method, pickup plan, shipping request, and pressure to leave the platform.
Check before buyingBefore a meetup, pickup, rental, or local deal
Slow down before deposits, verification codes, courier stories, unusual pickup plans, rushed meetups, or listings you cannot verify.
Check local deal safetyIf something already happened
If money, account access, personal information, or device access may be involved, start with the part that changed first.
Save the details before deleting messages or blocking accounts. The first step often depends on whether money moved, information was shared, account access changed, or a device was affected.
Money was sent, requested, or faked
Start with the payment method, transaction details, fake receipt, refund request, bank alert, or payment-app message.
Check payment stepsPersonal information was shared
The next step depends on whether they have an email, phone, password, code, SSN, card, bank details, ID, or document.
Check exposed informationA password, code, or login was involved
Use this for one-time codes, password reset links, account recovery prompts, new sign-ins, or login approvals.
Check account accessYour phone, browser, or account changed
Use this for pop-ups, new apps, browser changes, login alerts, password warnings, or account activity you did not start.
Check what changedA suspicious message, link, or call started it
Use this for emails, texts, calls, QR codes, fake login pages, attachments, delivery notices, or support warnings.
Check the messageGuidance by situation
Use this section when you know one detail, such as the message, payment method, information shared, platform, or real-world situation.
Money, payment, refund, or invoice
Payment apps, Zelle, crypto, invoices, fake proof, refunds, gift cards, and transfer pressure.
Personal information or account access
Passwords, codes, SSNs, card details, bank details, phone changes, and login concerns.
Buying, selling, dating, work, or renting
Online stores, local deals, fake buyers, rentals, job offers, dating requests, and meetups.
Common guides people use first
These are common starting points when the details already sound familiar.
Suspicious email or link
Suspicious email, link, QR code, or login page?
Check the sender, link, attachment, login page, QR code, and information request before you click again.
Check the messageScam text
Suspicious text message?
Check the text, short link, callback number, delivery notice, payment page, or verification-code request.
Check the textFake tech support
Fake virus warning, support call, or pop-up?
Sort out pop-ups, caller instructions, invoices, remote access, software installs, and payment pressure.
Check the warningMarketplace deal
Marketplace deal, shipping request, or payment screenshot?
Review payment proof, pickup pressure, shipping stories, deposits, off-platform messages, and buyer or seller behavior.
Check the dealOnline relationship
Someone online asked for money, gift cards, or crypto?
Review emergencies, secrecy, travel stories, crypto pressure, gift cards, and reasons they avoid meeting.
Check the requestExposed information
Scammer has your information? Start with what they got.
Focus on what may be exposed: email, phone, password, code, SSN, card, bank details, ID, or documents.
Check exposed informationZelle payment
Sent money with Zelle or saw a fake Zelle notice?
Understand what to save, who to contact, and why bank or platform timing matters.
Check Zelle stepsPhone or account concern
Phone acting strange after a link? Check what changed.
Check pop-ups, login alerts, new apps, browser changes, passwords, and account activity.
Check phone signsWhat ScamClarity helps with
Practical scam-prevention guidance with clear limits.
ScamClarity organizes consumer guidance for suspicious messages, risky requests, reporting options, account concerns, exposed information, and safer decisions before you act.
Guidance by situation
Start with the message, payment, account change, personal information, platform, or request in front of you.
Official paths where they matter
When reporting, account security, or payment timing matters, ScamClarity points toward official agencies, banks, platforms, and providers.
Clear limits
ScamClarity is not a government agency, bank, law firm, or money recovery service.