ScammersCheck
Methodology

How verdicts work

ScammersCheck queries multiple independent threat intelligence sources simultaneously and combines their signals into a single risk score and verdict. Here is exactly how it works.

The checking process

1
You paste content
You paste a phone number, URL, email address, or suspicious text message into the checker. ScammersCheck automatically detects the type of content.
2
Relevant evidence checks
ScammersCheck selects checks that apply to the submitted input. A URL, phone number, email address, and message do not use the same sources, and a source may be unavailable or have no data.
3
Signal scoring
Returned evidence can be clean, informational, or a warning. Signals carry severity weights and safeguards before being combined into a 0–100 risk score. The result’s coverage label refers to sources that returned usable data, not a safety probability.
4
Community weighting
Community scam and safe reports are considered alongside other evidence. They are rate-limited and unverified; phone-number reports have additional thresholds before they can influence a verdict.
5
Verdict assignment
The final risk score maps to one of five verdict tiers (see below). An AI-generated plain-English explanation summarises the key findings.

The five verdict tiers

Known ThreatRisk score 70–100

The entity has been confirmed as malicious by one or more authoritative threat intelligence sources. It appears on known scam databases, phishing blocklists, or has a documented history of fraudulent activity. Avoid all interaction.

High RiskRisk score 50–69

Multiple strong signals indicate this entity is likely involved in scam or fraud activity. It may not yet be on official blocklists but exhibits patterns consistent with known threats. Exercise extreme caution.

SuspiciousRisk score 25–49

Some signals suggest this entity may be problematic — for example, a recently registered domain, community reports, or unusual patterns. Proceed with caution and verify through additional channels before engaging.

No Threats FoundRisk score 0–24

No significant threat signals were detected across our sources. This does not guarantee the entity is safe — it simply means no known threats were identified at the time of checking. Always exercise reasonable caution.

Unable to CheckRisk score N/A

The entity could not be analysed — this may be because the input format was not recognised, the APIs were temporarily unavailable, or the content was too ambiguous to classify. Try again or rephrase your input.

Signal sources

SourceWhat it checks
Google Safe BrowsingChecks URLs against Google's phishing, malware, social-engineering, and potentially harmful application data when a URL is present.
VirusTotalRetrieves or submits a primary URL for multi-engine URL analysis when the service is available.
IPQualityScore & SkipCallsProvide phone, email, or IP reputation and phone-spam information for the input types they support.
RDAP, certificate history & hosting-IP dataProvide contextual domain registration, certificate, and infrastructure evidence for relevant URLs or domains.
Phishing and malware blocklistsRelevant URL domains can be compared with Phishing Army, Spamhaus DBL, SURBL, URIBL, URLhaus, and ThreatFox, subject to availability and safeguards.
Local technical analysisPattern, domain-anomaly, and phone-intelligence checks analyse the submitted content locally.
Contextual message analysisFor applicable messages and non-text entities, contextual analysis helps explain patterns in the submitted content and available evidence.
Community reportsCommunity scam and safe reports are rate-limited, not independently verified, and have additional safeguards for phone-number reports.

Important limitations

ScammersCheck results are risk indicators, not definitive verdicts. A clean result does not mean an entity is safe — new scam infrastructure is created daily and may not yet appear in threat databases.

Results depend on the quality and freshness of third-party data sources, which are outside our control. Always cross-reference with other sources before making important decisions.

The service is not a consumer reporting agency and must not be used to make employment, credit, insurance, or housing decisions about individuals.