How Scam Checker Works: Pattern Detection Explained

1. Analyse Key Patterns

After you paste a URL, email, or text message and submit a check, our system scans the text for specific "signals". These include high-pressure language ("act now"), known scam keywords (like "gift card" payments), and attempts to impersonate legitimate organisations like banks, AusPost, or the ATO.

2. Check Red Flag Database

We cross-reference the content against a database of known suspicious patterns. For example, if a message claims to be from "Australia Post" but asks you to pay a fee via a strange link, that's a massive red flag. We also check technical details like URL structures to spot fake websites.

3. Warning Signs and Next Steps

Based on these findings, we show a result labelled Low signals, Caution, or High signals. Review the explanations, available check coverage and suggested next steps. A low-signal result never guarantees safety.

4. Local Processing and Source Checks

Text analysis and file text extraction run in your browser. For applicable community and reputation checks, extracted identifiers such as URLs, domains, public IPs, email addresses or phone numbers may be sent to our services. The coverage receipt shows which sources completed and which checks were incomplete or unavailable.

We don't store your full pasted message or selected file. Extracted public IPs and their reputation results may be cached for up to 24 hours; domains and their registration results may be cached for up to seven days. Eligible signed-in users can separately choose to save a sanitised check summary.

Submitting a community report is also a separate action: evidence is scrubbed and stored privately, while only eligible grouped identifiers are shown publicly in masked or fixed-label form. Read our privacy policy for details about checks, saved summaries and reports.