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Guide · 5-minute read · Updated June 2026
Is This a Scam? The 5-Step Checklist
A 60-second checklist you can run on any suspicious message, website, phone call, or DM — before you click, pay, or reply.
Skip ahead: run the free Safe Scanner
Paste any website, wallet address, phone number, or social handle. Verdict in under 5 seconds. No signup, no tracking.
Open the Safe ScannerThe 5 steps
- 1
Slow down for 60 seconds
Almost every scam relies on urgency. A 60-second pause is the single highest-impact defence. If the message says 'act now or lose access,' that itself is the red flag.
- 2
Check the source independently
Never use the phone number, link, or email in the suspicious message. Look up the company on its real website (typed into your browser) and contact them through that channel.
- 3
Verify the identifier on GACS
Paste the website, wallet address, phone number, or social handle into the free Safe Scanner. You get a verdict in under 5 seconds against a blacklist of 96,000+ entities.
- 4
Look for the five universal red flags
Urgency. Secrecy ('don't tell anyone'). Unusual payment method (gift cards, wires, crypto). Too-good-to-be-true offer. A request that doesn't fit the relationship.
- 5
If still unsure, ask the Detective
GACS's Ask the Detective tool reviews the full message or screenshot and explains exactly which patterns it matches — and what to do next.
The five universal red flags
- Urgency — “you must act right now or lose access”
- Secrecy — “don’t tell anyone, not even your spouse”
- Unusual payment method — gift cards, wires, crypto
- Implausibly large reward — “you’ve won”, “guaranteed returns”
- A request that doesn’t fit the relationship — a tax officer asking for Apple cards
Still unsure?
The Ask the Detective tool reviews the full message or screenshot and explains which patterns it matches — in plain language, with the next step.
Trusted sources
United States
- FTC Consumer Advice — Scams
- USA.gov — Common scams & frauds
- ReportFraud.ftc.gov — Report a scam to the FTC
- CISA — Recognize & report phishing
Canada
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC)
- CAFC — Report fraud (1-888-495-8501)
- FCAC — Financial fraud (Government of Canada)
- Get Cyber Safe — Recognize & avoid phishing
Europe & UK
Want the checklist run for you? Paste the URL into the free website checker — is this site safe & legit? → Instant trust score plus every checklist signal scored automatically.
FAQ
How can I tell if a message or website is a scam in under a minute?
Slow down, check the source independently (typed URL, not the link), paste the website or number into the GACS Safe Scanner, and look for the five universal red flags: urgency, secrecy, unusual payment method, too-good-to-be-true offer, or a request that doesn't fit the relationship.
What are the universal red flags of a scam?
Urgency ('act now'), secrecy ('don't tell anyone'), unusual payment methods (gift cards, wires, crypto), implausibly large rewards, and requests that don't match the relationship (a tax officer asking for a gift-card payment, for example).
Is the GACS Safe Scanner really free?
Yes. No signup, no tracking, no email required. You can paste any website, wallet, phone number, or social handle and get a verdict in seconds.