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Search scam types, warning signs, scripts, recovery steps, and country-specific reporting routes before scammers get another chance.
If you think you've just been scammed: stop contact, do not send any more money, and contact your bank using the official number on your card. Open the first-10-minutes guide →
Rigged casinos, fake sportsbooks, tipster cons and betting-recovery scams that take stakes and winnings.
Fake inheritances, funeral-cost cons, obituary phishing and estate-fee scams that exploit grief and loss.
Fake benefit applications, grant approvals, rebate texts and reactivation cons that harvest data and fees.
Prosperity-gospel investments, fake tithing portals, pilgrimage cons and clergy-impersonation scams.
Fake concert, festival and sports tickets, duplicate barcodes and resale cons that leave you locked out.
Creator-economy and adult-platform cons: fake subscriptions, payout-verification fees and management scams.
Investment, crypto, loan, pension and recovery scams designed to take your money and then take it again.
Fake stores, fake delivery texts, counterfeit goods and non-delivery scams that take payment and vanish.
Emotional manipulation used to extract money, often blended with crypto investment grooming.
Fake recruiters, task scams, work-from-home traps and pay-to-get-paid schemes targeting job seekers.
Fake booking sites, hotel phishing, fake visa services and rental scams aimed at travellers.
Fake tax, police, immigration and court demands using fear and urgency to force payment.
Fake support calls, phishing, malware popups, QR-code and remote-access scams.
Deepfake voices, cloned websites, AI trading bots and synthetic endorsements raising the stakes.
Invoice redirection, CEO fraud, business email compromise and fake suppliers targeting organisations.
Fake pharmacies, miracle cures, bogus health insurance and medical identity theft that risk your money and health.
Fake rental listings, deposit theft, foreclosure-relief fraud, moving-company scams and real-estate wire fraud.
Rug pulls, wallet drainers, fake airdrops, seed-phrase phishing and bogus staking that exploit irreversible crypto.
Fake lottery wins, prize notifications and sweepstakes that demand an upfront fee for a prize that doesn't exist.
Fake charities, disaster-relief appeals and bogus crowdfunding that exploit generosity, especially after tragedies.
Fake shut-off threats, bogus energy brokers, solar and rebate scams that impersonate your utility company.
Fake vehicle listings, escrow and shipping fraud, VIN cloning, title washing and bogus extended warranties.
SIM swapping, number porting, account takeover and hacked-friend scams that hijack your phone and logins.
Fake health, auto, life and travel insurance, ghost brokers, and bogus claims-settlement schemes.
Student-loan-forgiveness, scholarship, diploma-mill, tuition-payment and study-abroad scams.
Free-currency generators, account takeovers, fake marketplaces and item-trading scams targeting players.
Synthetic identity, account-opening fraud, credential theft and data-breach exploitation that hijack who you are.
Courier 'card collection' fraud, mail theft, check washing and parcel-redelivery scams that exploit post and deliveries.
Fake visa, green-card and legal services, deportation-threat extortion and bogus settlement or lawsuit claims.
Negative-option billing, free-trial traps, cramming and hard-to-cancel subscriptions that drain accounts quietly.
Puppy-deposit and fake-breeder scams, escalating pet-shipping fees, and bogus adoption or lost-pet schemes.
Recruitment-only pyramid schemes, product-based MLM traps, gifting circles and 'passive income' hustle schemes.
Verification-badge phishing, hacked-friend impersonation, account-recovery cons and content-monetization traps.
Door-to-door and contractor cons — driveway paving, storm-chaser roofing, fake locksmiths, and disappearing-deposit handymen.
Sextortion-spam emails, intimate-image blackmail, ransom-DDoS and doxxing threats that demand payment for silence.
Grandparent and family-emergency cons, fake-boss gift-card requests, and 'your relative is in trouble' calls that manufacture panic.
Classic confidence tricks and street cons run face to face — three-card monte, the pigeon drop, change-raising, distraction theft, and tourist-targeted scams.
Physical and digital theft of card data — ATM and gas-pump skimmers, chip shimmers, card cloning, and web-skimming (Magecart) checkout attacks.
Fake or manipulated investment opportunities that promise high, guaranteed returns and pressure you to deposit quickly.
Fraud built around cryptocurrency — fake exchanges, wallet-draining links, giveaway scams and bogus trading platforms.
Fake foreign-exchange trading schemes and 'account managers' that promise steady FX profits and block withdrawals.
Slick websites and apps that simulate trading and show fake profits to keep you depositing.
Long-con investment fraud that blends romance or friendship with a fake crypto trading platform.
Fake lenders that demand upfront 'fees', insurance or deposits before releasing a loan that never arrives.
Crypto or gift-card payment, urgency, secrecy, "safe account" transfers, deposits before withdrawal, and remote-access requests are all major warning signs.
Try the Scam Risk Checker →A real bank, police officer, court, tax agency, or government department should not pressure you to move money into a “safe account.” Treat this as a critical warning sign and contact your bank using the official number on your card or banking app.
Common scams affecting tourists and residents in Thailand, plus how and where to report them.
EuropeThe most common scams in the UK and how to report them via Action Fraud, your bank, and 159.
North AmericaTop scams in the United States and how to report to the FTC, FBI IC3, and your bank.
OceaniaCommon scams in Australia and how to report them to Scamwatch, ReportCyber, and your bank.
Conversation scripts, checklists, and warning signs to help families intervene early — without shaming the victim.
This scam text impersonates a courier like DHL, claiming a parcel is stuck because of an unpaid customs charge, redelivery fee, or incomplete address, and includes a link to "resolve" it. The scammer isn't trying to deliver anything — they're after your card number, expiry, CVV, and billing address on a lookalike payment page, plus enough personal detail to commit further fraud. The lever is the small, plausible amount: a tiny fee feels easier to pay than to question. The single most important step is not tapping the link — check tracking directly through the courier's real app or website instead.
Email / chatThis message impersonates a hotel or booking platform, warning that a card payment failed or needs "re-verification," sometimes quoting a real reservation date or reference number to look convincing. The scammer wants your full card number, expiry, and CVV, plus any one-time banking code sent to confirm the "update," which lets them make unauthorized charges or drain funds. It works by mixing genuine-looking booking details with manufactured urgency about losing your reservation. The most important step is to never enter payment details through a link in the message — log into the booking platform directly through its official app or site instead.
Phone callIn this script, a caller claims to be a police officer, telling you that your identity, bank accounts, or a family member's safety is at risk, and that you must move your savings to a "safe" government-held account or hand cash to a courier for "evidence protection." Real police never ask you to transfer money or hand over cash to verify your identity. The scammer relies on the authority of a badge and manufactured urgency to short-circuit your caution, often keeping you on the phone so you can't call anyone to check. The most important step is to hang up and call your local police department directly using a number you look up yourself.
WhatsAppThis script starts with a friendly stranger or "mentor" on WhatsApp who shares screenshots of trading profits and offers to teach you their strategy, gradually building trust before introducing a trading platform they control. The scammer's real goal is to get you depositing real money into a fake dashboard that shows invented gains, then to demand escalating "tax," "fee," or "unlocking" payments before you're ever allowed to withdraw. The lever is manufactured trust and greed built slowly over days or weeks, so the eventual money requests feel like a natural next step. The most important step is to never deposit funds into a platform introduced by someone you only know online.
We help people recognise scam patterns, protect loved ones, preserve evidence, and find official reporting routes — without falling into recovery scams.
About us →We focus on patterns and public warnings, not unverified private accusations, and we cite official sources where possible.
Editorial policy →Navigate scams by type, channel, payment method, victim profile, and reporting agency in our structured knowledge graph.
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