016 minute read
Identity and impersonation
AI voice and video impersonation
Voice cloning and generated video can imitate a relative, manager or public official. The safest test happens outside the call.
Scam guides
Recognise the pattern. Choose the safer route.
22 practical guides explain how scam tactics work, show what the messages look like, unpack a realistic example and show how to verify a request without relying on the suspicious contact.
22distinct scam guides
82cited official-source links
74common questions answered
Meet the accountable editorial team The guide library
Start with the contact you received.
Filter by how the contact reached you, or search for a word from the message. Each guide includes an annotated example, a verification plan, prevention steps and what to do if you already acted.
Showing all 22 guides
026 minute read
Links and account access
QR code phishing and fake login pages
Unexpected QR codes can open copied login or payment pages before you have a useful chance to inspect the real address.
037 minute read
Money and impersonation
Bank fraud-team impersonation
Scammers create panic about an account, then offer to fix it by collecting codes, remote access or a transfer.
046 minute read
Shopping and services
Fake delivery and parcel texts
A missed-delivery message uses a small believable problem to collect payment details, passwords and personal information.
056 minute read
Work and employment
Fake recruiter and task scams
Unexpected remote-job messages turn into fake cheques, paid tasks, equipment fees or requests to deposit your own money.
066 minute read
Money and investments
Online investment and crypto fraud
Fake platforms, advisers and AI-generated personalities manufacture trust, profits and urgency before blocking withdrawals.
076 minute read
Relationships and trust
Romance scams and relationship investment fraud
A patient online relationship can be engineered to isolate a person, introduce emergencies or investments, and make repeated payments feel like acts of trust.
086 minute read
Devices and account access
Tech-support and remote-access scams
Fake security alerts and refund calls create a computer problem, then ask for remote control, banking access or a difficult-to-reverse payment.
096 minute read
Shopping and services
Online marketplace buyer and seller scams
Fake buyers and sellers move conversations off-platform, imitate payment notices and remove the protections that make a marketplace useful.
106 minute read
Devices and account access
Verification-code and account-takeover scams
A caller who already has a password may need only one approval, code or recovery change to take control of an account.
116 minute read
Identity and impersonation
Government and law-enforcement impersonation
Fake officials use arrest threats, badges, case numbers and real personal data to keep victims on the phone and force immediate payment or secrecy.
126 minute read
Work and employment
Business email compromise and invoice fraud
Compromised or imitated business accounts redirect real payments by changing bank details, creating executive urgency or taking over an existing email thread.
136 minute read
Shopping and services
Rental-listing and deposit scams
Copied photos, below-market prices and remote-landlord stories create pressure to pay or share identity documents before a property is genuinely available.
146 minute read
Money and impersonation
Refund and scam-recovery fraud
People who have already lost money are targeted again by fake investigators, recovery agents and officials who promise guaranteed results for a fee.
159 minute read
Identity and impersonation
Unpaid toll and road-charge texts
Fake toll and fine texts borrow the authority of a road agency, threatening late fees, licence penalties or court so that you pay through a link before checking.
1610 minute read
Identity and impersonation
‘Hi Mum’ and new-number family texts
A message from an unknown number claims to be your son, daughter or a friend whose phone is lost or broken, then turns the chat into an urgent request to pay a bill or send money.
179 minute read
Money and impersonation
Gift card payment demands
Fake officials, support staff, bosses, prize organisers and online partners tell different stories but ask for the same thing: the numbers and PINs from gift cards, which can be spent without the card and are hard to recover.
1810 minute read
Shopping and services
Fake invoices and subscription-renewal emails
A fake invoice, order confirmation or auto-renewal notice invents an alarming charge, then steers you to a phone call where scammers ask for remote access, card details or a ‘refund’ payment.
199 minute read
Shopping and services
Fake online shops and social-media ads
Fake shops use paid adverts, copied brand designs and steep discounts to take payment for goods that never arrive or turn out to be cheap substitutes.
209 minute read
Shopping and services
Ticket, holiday and booking scams
Sold-out events, holiday deals and travel disruption give scammers a reason to rush you — through resale posts, copycat sites, fake helplines and booking messages that ask you to pay or ‘re-verify’ a card.
219 minute read
Money and impersonation
Prize, lottery and giveaway scams
A message says you have won a lottery, prize draw or giveaway, then asks for a fee, ‘tax’ or your bank details before anything can be released.
2210 minute read
Relationships and trust
Sextortion emails and image-based threats
Sextortion uses shame and a deadline to demand money, whether it arrives as a mass email bluffing about webcam footage or from a fake online contact threatening to share an intimate image.
How to use these guides
Verification beats perfect detection.
- Notice the pressure.Urgency, secrecy and unusual payment requests are reasons to pause.
- Leave the supplied channel.Do not use the message’s link, number, QR code or support account.
- Start a trusted contact.Use an official app, saved contact, statement or independently found source.
Still unsure?