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Suspicious message analyzer

Is this message a scam?

Paste a text message, an email or a message you received. The tool shows the scam techniques it contains — a deadline, a request for a code, small fees, a link —, reads every link the way the browser reads it, and names the attacks it looks like. Everything happens in your browser: the message is not sent anywhere.

Where did you get it?

The analysis happens in your browser: the text is not sent anywhere, not stored, and no link is opened. You can hide your name or a number before pasting.

No message to hand? Try a fictional example:

How the tool reads a message

Scam messages resemble each other less in their words than in their techniques: rushing you, scaring you or promising you something, then getting you to act yourself — pay, give a code, sign in through a link. The tool looks for these techniques one by one, with rules written from the site's attack articles and tested on its fictional messages. For each technique found, it quotes the words of the message that triggered it and explains why fraudsters use it. Links are read with the public list of domain suffixes browsers use, to isolate the real owner of the address.

It doesn't give a verdict. An honest message can contain a deadline; a careful scam can contain none. The result is there to tell you what to check, and how.

The 26 techniques the tool recognizes

A very short deadline
A deadline of a few minutes or a few hours has only one purpose: getting you to act before you've checked. A legitimate request always survives an hour of thinking it over.
A threat or a penalty
Account blocked, legal action, surcharge: fear of a consequence pushes you to look for the solution offered rather than to check who is announcing it. A real organization gives you time and a way to check for yourself.
Small fees to release something
A few euros or dollars to release a parcel, a prize or a payment are rarely about collecting that money: they are about getting your full card number. Receiving something never requires paying first.
A request for payment or bank details
A message asking you to pay, transfer or enter your card makes you carry out the transaction yourself, which is what makes it hard to dispute afterwards. Only pay from your official account, which you open yourself.
Payment by gift card or voucher
No organization, customer service or government agency takes payment in gift cards or prepaid vouchers. This method is asked for because it is impossible to reverse and hard to trace.
A change of bank details
A new bank, a new IBAN announced by message: this is the technique that diverts an expected payment. A change of bank details is always confirmed by phone, on a number you already had.
A request for a code
A code received by text or in an app is there to prove it's you. Anyone who asks you for it — bank, support, relative — is trying to pass themselves off as you. No service ever asks for this code.
A request to sign in or give personal information
“Confirm your details”, “log in”: the link leads to a copy of the login page, and what you type there goes to the sender. To sign in, use the app or a bookmark, never the link in a message.
Unexpected good news
Refund, prize, gift: good news doesn't trigger suspicion, which is what makes it useful. A real refund appears in your official account, and a prize for a game you never entered doesn't exist.
An organization or an authority
The name of a bank, a government agency or the police cuts questions short: people don't dare check. Anyone can copy that name. Check by contacting the organization yourself, on a number or website you already know.
A relative who changed number
“It's me, I've got a new number” followed by a request for money is the relative-impersonation scenario. Call the person on their old number before anything else: that's the check that settles it.
A request for discretion
“Don't tell anyone” isolates you: the person who could tell you in ten seconds that it's a scam is exactly the one you're asked not to tell. A confidential request for money is always worth checking.
A number to call
The number given in the message leads to the sender, not to the organization. If it's premium-rate, the call itself costs you. To reach an organization, use the number on your card, your contract or its official website.
A parcel or a delivery
These messages are sent in bulk: some recipients are bound to be expecting a parcel. Always tie the message to a tracking number you already have, on the carrier's website opened by yourself.
A fine or a penalty notice
A sum to pay quickly, or else a surcharge, is the fake-fine scenario. In France, penalty notices arrive by post, not by text with a link. Look the notice up on the official fine-payment website, opened by yourself, with the notice number.
A home to book from a distance
A low rent, a landlord abroad, keys sent after a transfer: a real home can be viewed before you pay anything, and its owner can be met or at least reached by phone.
A SIM card change
If you didn't ask for anything, someone is having your number moved to their card to receive your security codes. Call your carrier immediately, on the number in your contract or on its website, to block the line.
A change of recovery address or number
The recovery address is what lets someone take back an account. If it changes without you, someone is preparing to reset your password. Sign in yourself straight away and undo the change in the security settings.
A payment to “release”
Receiving money never requires you to “release” anything, or to sign in to your bank from a link. A payment you've received shows up in your online banking, opened by yourself.
An invoice to pay
An unexpected invoice, for a modest amount, with a payment link, counts on nobody checking small sums. Match it against a real order and check with the provider, from your own account.
An alert about your account
A sign-in or suspicious-activity alert may be genuine, or imitated to make you click. Either way, the answer is the same: open the service's app or website yourself and look at the sign-in history.
An investment or a return
High return and zero risk never go together. Before paying anything in, check that the firm is authorized by the financial regulator, and never pay to get money back.
A job or task offer
An easy, well-paid job offered without an interview often hides fees to pay upfront, a request for ID documents, or the use of your bank account. A real employer never makes you pay.
A request to install an app or take control
Installing a remote-access app gives the other person control of your device, and of whatever you open on it — including your bank. No support team contacts you to get you to install it.
Blackmail over images or data
“I have videos of you”, “I'll publish your data”: these messages are often sent in bulk, with nothing real behind them. Don't pay, don't reply, keep screenshots, and change the password if one is quoted.
A link to open
The link is the path the sender chose for you. Even if the address looks right, to sign in or pay, use the official app or a bookmark. The reading of the address below says who it belongs to, not whether the site is honest.

What the tool doesn't do

  • It never says a message is “safe”: it has no way of knowing.
  • It doesn't open links or follow redirects: the destination of a shortened link stays unknown.
  • It doesn't know the real sender: a displayed name or number can be imitated.
  • It uses no artificial intelligence and doesn't compare the message with a database of known scams.

Fictional examples

These messages are made up for training: no real organization or address. Each one matches a simulation, where you decide what to do before seeing the explanation.

  • Fictional example — A parcel on hold (text)

    Your parcel is awaiting delivery. A redelivery fee of €1.95 is still due: https://tracking-fictionalcarrier.example-not-real.test/payment

    Fake courier / package on hold · Practise on this message

  • Fictional example — An unpaid fine (text)

    Penalty notice no. FR88231 unpaid. Surcharge applies after 48h. Pay at: fine-service-fictional.example-not-real.test/pay

    Fake traffic fine · Practise on this message

  • Fictional example — A relative with a new number

    Hey it's me, I broke my phone, here's my new number 🙂 I have a problem: I don't have my banking app on here yet and I have a $780 bill due tonight. Can you pay it for me? I'll pay you back tomorrow. I'll send you the account details. (Can't call, my mic is broken.)

    Impersonating a relative by message · Practise on this message

  • Fictional example — Your bank (email)

    Dear customer, Our security system was unable to re-verify your online access. Without confirmation from you within 48 hours, access to your account will be suspended. Re-verify my access: https://my-account.fictional-bank-alert.example-not-real.test/reverify Customer Service

    Phishing · Practise on this message

  • Fictional example — An urgent transfer from management

    Hello, I'm travelling and working on a confidential deal. I need you to make a €24,800 transfer today to the account attached. The matter is sensitive: please don't mention it to the team, I'll explain on Monday. Let me know as soon as it has gone out.

    Fake wire transfer order (CEO fraud) · Practise on this message

Frequently asked questions

Can the tool tell me a message is safe?

No, and it never will. It spots techniques that scams use; a message with none of them can still be fraudulent, especially if it's well written. The only reliable check is to contact the organization yourself, on a number or website you already know.

Is the message I paste sent or stored?

No. The analysis happens entirely in your browser: the text isn't sent to any server or any artificial intelligence, it isn't stored, and the links it contains are never opened. When you share a result, the link only contains the list of techniques found.

What should I do with a scam text message?

Don't click and don't reply. Forward it to your carrier's spam-reporting number (33700 in France, free of charge), then delete it. If the message is about your bank or an account, check by opening the official app yourself.

I already clicked the link or replied: what now?

It depends on what you gave away. If you entered a password, change it from the official website; if you gave card details or approved a payment, call your bank to block the card. The emergency checklist gives the first steps, in order.

Why does the tool find nothing when I'm sure it's a scam?

Because it looks for specific techniques — a deadline, a request for a code, a link, fees — and a scam can do without them, especially at the start of a conversation. Trust your doubt: give nothing away and check through another channel.

Going further

The scams the tool recognizes

The other tools