Scam Alert: Checker & News

Is this a scam, and what scams are going around right now? Check a suspicious message or link, follow scam alerts, and know what to do if you've been scammed.

Scam Alert is an independent app, not a government app. Its government information comes from the official websites listed under SOURCES.

IS THIS A SCAM?
Paste a text, email or link and see its red flags explained: pressure to act now, gift card or crypto payments, requests for a code, look-alike web addresses, hidden short links, fake delivery and toll texts. Got a call? Answer a few quick questions. It's checked on your phone: nothing you paste is sent anywhere.

SCAM ALERTS
Scam news by type (calls, texts, phishing, shopping, impostors, crypto, romance, jobs, identity theft, AI voice clones and more) and official warnings. Follow who scammers pretend to be, from your bank, Amazon and Zelle to the IRS, Medicare and USPS, with an alert at most once a day each, never at night.

SCAM RADAR
Which scams are rising this week and the latest official warnings.

BEEN SCAMMED?
Step-by-step help, from gift cards and wire transfers to a stolen password, and where to report in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Plus a security check-up.

LEARN
The Scam Playbook (23 scams), "Spot the scam" (five messages a day), a tip a day, 60+ scam terms and a scam calendar with reminders.

NOT A GOVERNMENT APP
Scam Alert is not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency or police force, or any company named in it. The checker is a guide, not a guarantee, and nothing here is legal or financial advice.

SOURCES
Government, each from its official website:
US: FTC, https://consumer.ftc.gov, https://reportfraud.ftc.gov, https://www.identitytheft.gov, https://www.donotcall.gov; FBI, https://www.fbi.gov, https://www.ic3.gov; SEC, https://www.sec.gov; CFTC, https://www.cftc.gov; CFPB, https://www.consumerfinance.gov; Justice Department, https://www.justice.gov; CISA, https://www.cisa.gov; Social Security, https://www.ssa.gov; IRS, https://www.irs.gov; TIGTA, https://www.tigta.gov; Medicare, https://www.medicare.gov; HealthCare.gov, https://www.healthcare.gov; Federal Student Aid, https://studentaid.gov; USPIS, https://www.uspis.gov; MilitaryConsumer.gov, https://www.militaryconsumer.gov; NOAA, https://www.nhc.noaa.gov
UK: NCSC, https://www.ncsc.gov.uk; Report Fraud, https://www.reportfraud.police.uk; Police Scotland, https://www.scotland.police.uk; GOV.UK, https://www.gov.uk
Canada: Anti-Fraud Centre, https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca; Get Cyber Safe, https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca; Canada.ca, https://www.canada.ca
Australia: Scamwatch, https://www.scamwatch.gov.au; ASD, https://www.cyber.gov.au
New Zealand: NCSC, https://www.ncsc.govt.nz
Ireland: Garda, https://www.garda.ie
United Nations, https://www.un.org
Help groups: NCMEC Take It Down, Netsafe, FraudSMART, Citizens Advice, IDCARE, NAAG, AnnualCreditReport.com, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion.
News, from these publishers only: Which?, Get Safe Online, National Consumers League, AARP, BBB, Consumer Reports, Snopes, Malwarebytes, ESET, Kaspersky, Krebs on Security, BleepingComputer, The Record, Help Net Security, Proofpoint, TechRadar, PCMag, CNET, ZDNET, MakeUseOf, The Verge, WIRED, Ars Technica, Engadget, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Android Authority, CNBC, CNN, NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, Fox News, NPR, Reuters, AP, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, WSJ, Bloomberg, Forbes, Business Insider, Yahoo, MarketWatch, Kiplinger, NerdWallet, Newsweek, TIME, Axios, ConsumerAffairs, Patch, BBC, The Guardian, Sky News, The Independent, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mirror, The Sun, MoneySavingExpert, This is Money, The Irish Times, Irish Independent, RTÉ, CBC, CTV News, Global News, ABC (Australia), news.com.au, NZ Herald, RNZ, Al Jazeera.
Pictures: logos of the organisations named, and Wikimedia Commons photos.

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Recent changes:
A completely new Scam Alert: check a text, email or link for scam red flags (checked on your phone), scam alerts by type and by who scammers pretend to be, the Scam Radar of what's rising, step-by-step help and where to report if you've been scammed, a security check-up, the Scam Playbook, a daily "Spot the scam" quiz and a scam calendar with reminders.