Don’t click yet. Check suspicious messages before you trust them.
Search plain-language guidance for texts, calls, emails, links, DMs, invoices, QR codes, payment requests, marketplace messages, crypto pitches, and AI impersonation attempts.
- Pause and do not use the supplied link or number.
- Open the official app or website yourself.
- Do not share a code, password, or payment.
Turn pressure into a practical next step.
Each guide explains the pattern, the action being requested, and a safer way to verify the claim outside the suspicious contact.
Start with a common situation.
Unexpected delivery and account texts
Why urgency, short links, and verification requests deserve an independent check.
LinksFake login pages
How to pause when a familiar brand asks you to sign in through an unexpected link.
PaymentsRefund and payment-app requests
What to verify before sending money, returning a payment, or sharing a code.
Choose the channel or pressure point.
Email scams
Invoices, account alerts, impersonation, and attachments.
Phone call scams
Urgent callers, spoofed identities, and remote-access requests.
Social and marketplace scams
DMs, listings, jobs, romance, and account recovery offers.
Crypto and investment pitches
High-pressure opportunities, withdrawals, fees, and recovery claims.
Already clicked, replied, downloaded, or paid?
Stop using the suspicious contact path. Contact the affected bank, card issuer, platform, provider, or account through its official app or website. Secure exposed access, preserve safe evidence, and report through the appropriate official route.
See emergency guidesDo this first
- Do not send more information or money.
- Change exposed passwords from the official site.
- Call the number on your card or statement if payment is involved.
- Redact private details before saving or sharing evidence.
Useful guidance without overclaiming.
DontClickYet is part of the Ben Treder Network. Questions and corrections: [email protected].
Good scam-safety guidance should leave you with a decision you can actually take. Look for the claimed organization in a statement, saved app, known bookmark, or independently typed domain. Treat unexpected urgency as a reason to slow down, not as evidence that the claim is true. If the message turns out to be legitimate, independent verification is still a reasonable way to protect an account or payment. If it is deceptive, ending the supplied contact path limits what the sender can learn about you.
Keep this resource educational: a pattern match is not a verdict, and a familiar name or logo does not prove who sent a message. Do not publish private details while asking for help. Redact screenshots, avoid forwarding suspicious links, and use the responsible provider’s current official instructions when they differ from general guidance here.