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Spot a scam

An email, text or call feels odd? Answer twelve questions. You get a traffic light and a concrete next step. Your answers stay in this browser.

A help, not a verdictThe traffic light estimates by fixed rules how much the message looks like a scam. It can be wrong in both directions. There is no green, because good fakes show no signs. When in doubt: tap nothing, pay nothing, ask yourself.

About the message

01Are you being rushed to act at once, or threatened with consequences?

For example: account will be blocked, final reminder, a fine, the police are coming.

02Are you supposed to send money or give payment details?

Bank transfer, gift card codes, cryptocurrency, card number, cash at the door.

03Are you asked for a password, PIN or a security code?

This includes a code that was just texted to you. Genuine organizations never ask for it.

04Are you asked to install a program or give someone remote access to your device?

For example AnyDesk, TeamViewer or a “security app”.

05Are you asked to tap a link or QR code to confirm, unlock or track something?
06Is there an attachment you did not expect?

An invoice, a ZIP file, Word or Excel asking you to “enable macros”.

07Does the message come from a sender you do not know, or does the sender address not fit the company?

Look at the address in the angle brackets, not only at the name in front.

08Have you ordered, applied for or booked nothing that fits this?

For example a parcel, although you ordered nothing.

09Is the greeting generic, or is the text full of mistakes and odd wording?

“Dear customer”, spelling mistakes, traces of machine translation. Flawless does not mean genuine, though.

10Does it sound too good to be true?

A prize, an inheritance, a refund, a dream job, a price far below the usual.

11Are you told to keep it secret or to ask nobody?

Not the family, the bank or the police either.

12Does someone get in touch unexpectedly as a relative, the police, a bank or an agency?

A call from an unknown number or a message like “Hi Mum, this is my new number”.

Nothing evaluated yetAnswer the questions as well as you can (“Not sure” is allowed), then tap “Evaluate”.

Reminder card to print

For the fridge, the phone or for parents and grandparents. Fits on one A4 page.

Spot a scam: reminder card

When someone rushes you, threatens you or wants money: STOP.

  1. Stop. You do not have to do anything at once. A genuine matter can wait an hour.
  2. Nobody genuine asks for a password, PIN or code. Not the bank, not the police.
  3. No money at the door, on the phone or as a gift card code. No bank, agency or police asks for that.
  4. Do not tap links in messages. Open the known website yourself or use the app.
  5. Hang up and call back yourself, on the number from your card, your invoice or the official website.
  6. Tell someone. Whoever asks for secrecy does not want you to ask around.

Card blocking hotline (Germany): 116 116 · Police: 110

My bank (number from the card):

A person I can ask:

More on this topic: Check a link · Read a mail header · Read a QR code · Check a password

Your answers stay in this browser. They are not stored, not sent and not counted.

How it works
  1. 01The questions are worded so that “Yes” is always a warning sign. You do not have to answer all of them.
  2. 02Each “Yes” counts by its weight. Some answers are enough for red on their own: being asked for a password or code, giving remote access, or being pushed to keep it secret. Genuine banks, companies and agencies never do that.
  3. 03Every warning sign comes with a step that fits it. Below that is what applies to every suspicious message and what you can do if something has already happened.

Limits: The questionnaire is a thinking aid, not a testing device. It does not see the message, only your answers. It can rate genuine messages as suspicious and fake ones as unremarkable. It does not replace advice from your bank, the police or a consumer advice center. The emergency numbers apply to Germany.