The useful result
Follow a four-step check for a suspicious call, message or image and know where to report it.
- Follow a four-step check for a suspicious call, message or image and know where to report it.
A voice that sounds exactly like your grandchild says they are in trouble and need money now. An email from “your boss” asks for gift cards. A photo of a disaster spreads fast. AI makes each of these cheaper to fake, and the pressure to act quickly is the common thread.
The FTC’s advice is simple: slow down, ask whether there is really an emergency and whether it is really your relative or friend calling, and do not trust a voice alone, because scammers use cloning to sound like family. A request to wire money or buy gift cards is a warning sign. This lesson turns that into a routine you can follow when your heart is racing.
The examples below are illustrative exercises, not recorded results from any tool. Sources were checked on 24 October 2026; menus, limits and prices change, so confirm details on the linked pages.
Before you start
- A suspicious message, call or image (or a made-up one for practice)
- The real contact details of the person it claims to come from
- Five calm minutes
Review evidence
Documentation-based review · 2026-10-24
Primary documentation and official guidance checked on 24 October 2026. Examples, checks and exercises are original illustrations, not recorded tool tests. Cover artwork is a conceptual illustration.
Pause and name the pressure
Stop before replying, paying or sharing. Ask what the message wants you to do and how fast: urgency, secrecy, a demand to keep it from others, or payment in an unusual form such as wire transfer or gift cards. Writing the pressure down makes it easier to see.
Check your result
You have not acted yet, and you can state what the message wants and what pressure it uses.
Verify through a different channel
Do not use the phone number, link or reply address in the suspicious message. Contact the person using details you already have, such as a saved number or a known email, and ask directly. A family code word agreed in advance is a simple extra check. Do not rely on a familiar voice alone.
I received this message: [paste, with private details removed]. List the warning signs of a scam or impersonation you can see (urgency, secrecy, unusual payment, mismatched sender, odd links). Do not tell me it is genuine or fake; tell me what to verify and how to do it safely using contact details I already have.Example / expected result
Illustrative example; not a recorded model result.
“Warning signs: urgent deadline, request for gift cards, sender domain differs from the real one. Verify by calling the number saved in your contacts.”
Check your result
You have reached the real person through a trusted channel, or you have decided not to proceed.
Check images and video at their source, then report
For a striking image or clip, find who first published it, search for the original and look for Content Credentials where they exist. Missing credentials prove nothing either way, because they can be absent or stripped. If it is a scam, report it to your national consumer authority; in the United States the FTC takes reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Check your result
You have found a credible original source or marked the image as unverified, and a scam has been reported.
When it goes wrong
Scammers adapt quickly, and no check is perfect. Do not share details of the scam with strangers who offer to “recover” money. Report quickly if you paid. Rules and reporting sites differ by country.
Make it your own
Write your own family or team verification routine in three lines: what you will do, which channel you will use and what code word or question you will use.
Useful next resources
Sources and review
Last checked Oct 24, 2026. Features and account limits can change. Verify important results against your original material.
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Practical AI lessons with checked sources, labelled examples and human verification.
