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What's free vs. what needs a Shield
GACS has no paywall on safety. This page lists exactly what you can use without signing in, and what unlocks the moment you activate your free Shield (account).
Available without login
- Scam scanner — check any X / TikTok / Instagram / YouTube / Telegram / Discord handle, website URL, or crypto wallet address (up to 1 free lifetime scan without an account).
- Public scam database — browse every reported scam page at /scams and each dedicated /scam/<slug> page.
- Verdict share pages — open any /scan/<id> or /warn?... share link a friend sent you.
- Educational content — the Crypto Risk Certifications landing page, /what-is-gacs, /start-here, guides, articles, and the full FAQ at /faq.
- Trust & safety pages — /about, /team, /press-kit, /contact, /privacy, /terms.
- Report a scam form — submit a report anonymously; no account required.
- Appeal a listing — /appeal/<slug> is open to anyone whose entity was flagged.
- Public leaderboards and community save counts (aggregated only — no individual identifiers).
Activating your free Shield unlocks
Activation is free and takes under 20 seconds. No credit card. No trial timer.
- Your Shield dashboard — scan history, alerts, and saved items in one place.
- Unlimited scans — the one-scan lifetime cap is removed immediately. Still free.
- Save to my Shield — bookmark scam pages, guides, and scan verdicts to return to later.
- Watchlist + email alerts — get notified when a watched wallet, ticker, or entity changes.
- Impersonator monitoring — track fake accounts targeting your handle over time.
- Saved guides — keep Crypto Risk Certifications lessons you bookmarked for quick reference.
- Creator badge — issue a verified-owner embed for your site or social profile.
- Certificates — store Crypto Risk Certifications course completion certificates on your account.
- Shield settings — control email preferences, family plan, and profile.
Frequently asked
Do I need an account to check if something is a scam?
No. Every visitor gets one free scan without signing in, and the entire public scam database at /scams is readable without login. Activation only unlocks unlimited scans and personal memory (history, watchlist, alerts).
Is the account really free?
Yes. There is no paywall on core safety features. Activating your free Shield removes the 1-scan lifetime cap and turns on personal features like history, alerts, and saved items. Optional premium tiers exist for family protection and continuous monitoring, but the free Shield covers full personal safety.
Why is there any limit at all before I sign in?
The lifetime free-scan limit exists so bots and scrapers can't drain the scanner, and so anyone who genuinely wants ongoing protection is nudged to activate a Shield (which is where alerts, history, and watchlists actually live). A signed-in visitor gets unlimited scans immediately.
Can I read a share link a friend sent me without signing in?
Yes. Both /scan/<id> verdict pages and /warn?... alert pages render publicly. No account is required to see what someone shared with you.
Can I report a scam without an account?
Yes. The report form accepts anonymous submissions. Signing in is only useful if you want the report tied to your Shield so you can track it and earn contributor points.
Do search engines and AI assistants see the public pages?
Yes. All public pages listed above are indexable by Google, Bing, and AI answer engines. Only account-only pages (dashboard, watchlist, settings, my-impersonators, etc.) are noindex'd — that's a privacy choice, not a hidden wall.
What happens to my data if I never sign in?
Anonymous scans are recorded by a rotating browser fingerprint for rate-limiting only. No email, name, or account is created. If you later activate a Shield with the same browser, prior anonymous scan history does NOT get merged in — activation starts a clean personal history.
How do I activate my free Shield?
Open /signup, choose email + password or Google, and you're in. Activation takes under 20 seconds and immediately unlocks unlimited scans, watchlist, alerts, and the dashboard at /dashboard.