How online scams actually work, in plain language

We document recurring online scams - how each one operates, the warning signs, and what to do if you've already been caught. Sourced from government agencies, law enforcement, and security researchers.

Browse scam guides How we research

Most common scams right now

A few of the patterns people get caught by most often. The full set lives on the guides page.

Job fraud Active
The task-app job scam
A text offers easy online work - rating apps, liking videos, "product boosting." The job is fake, and any money you deposit to unlock your earnings never comes back. Here's exactly how the trap is built.
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Extortion Active
The sextortion email scam
An email claims a hacker filmed you through your webcam and demands Bitcoin - often quoting an old password to make it land. Almost always an empty threat. Here's why, what to do, and how the more serious version that targets teens differs.
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Impersonation Active
The family emergency scam
A call says a loved one is in jail or in an accident and needs money now - increasingly with an AI-cloned voice. The panic is the point.
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Smishing Active
The fake delivery text scam
A text about a failed delivery or a held package asks for a small redelivery fee. It's smishing - posing as USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL to grab your card details.
Read the guide →
Bank impersonation Active
The bank impersonation scam
A caller claims to be your bank's fraud team and tells you to "protect" your money by moving it or sending it to yourself on Zelle. The account isn't safe - it's theirs.
Read the guide →
Recovery scam Active
The money-recovery scam
After a loss, someone promises to recover your money for an upfront fee. It's a second scam aimed squarely at people who've already been hit.
Read the guide →
Browse all scam guides →

Warning signs that cut across every scam

The disguises change. The underlying mechanics rarely do. If a message or offer trips several of these at once, treat it as a scam until proven otherwise.

You're contacted out of the blue
Real employers, banks, and delivery firms don't cold-message strangers with offers or urgent problems.
Sudden urgency or a deadline
"Act now," "your account will be closed," "the offer expires today." Pressure exists to stop you thinking.
You have to pay to get paid
A fee, deposit, tax, or "top-up" to release your earnings or claim a prize. Legitimate money never works this way.
Payment only by crypto, gift card, or wire
These are hard to trace and nearly impossible to reverse. That's exactly why a scammer insists on them.
Pushed to move off-platform
Quickly steered to WhatsApp, Telegram, or a private app, away from anywhere with oversight or a paper trail.
Returns that sound too good
High daily pay for trivial tasks, or guaranteed profit with no risk. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

One flag alone isn't proof. A friend really might recommend a job, and a real delivery really might be delayed. It's the combination - unsolicited contact, urgency, and an unusual payment demand together - that reliably marks a scam.

Why you can trust these pages

ScamChecker.online is an independent research project. We don't accuse named companies of being scams, we don't sell anything, and we never charge for help. Every significant figure on our pages links to its primary source so you can check it yourself.

The site is funded by advertising, and advertising has no influence on what we write. More on how we research, who we are, and how the site is funded.

How we work
  • Built from government, law-enforcement, and security-research sources.
  • Patterns and tactics, never verdicts about specific named businesses.
  • Every page carries a "last verified" date and a corrections route.
  • Independent. Ads fund the site but don't shape the content.