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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 Scanner

The 5 steps

  1. 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. 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. 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 80,000+ entities.

  4. 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. 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.

Ask the DetectiveIt's happening right now — open Panic Guide

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.