Play · fraud defense

Scam Spotter

Updated 2026-07-26 · Sources: 2 · All messages are fictional training examples

Every scam, from the crudest text to the most patient romance con, leans on the same four levers: urgency (act now, think never), authority (we're the IRS / your bank / your grandson), strange payment (gift cards, wire, crypto; anything irreversible), and secrecy ("don't tell anyone"). Train your eye on ten messages.

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The patterns are drawn from the FTC's consumer alerts (consumer.ftc.gov/scams) and the SEC's warning on affinity fraud: cons that spread through churches and communities precisely because trust is high there (investor.gov). Every message here is fictional.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 7:15

KJV. Jesus' warning is about religious deception, which is exactly why affinity fraud works: the wolf quotes Scripture too. Trust in the Lord; verify the man.

The quiz needs JavaScript, but the lesson doesn't: urgency + authority + irreversible payment + secrecy = scam, whatever it says on the label. Hang up, look up the real number yourself, and call back. Read how scams work.