A scam checker is a tool that lets someone check whether a link, message, phone number or website is likely to be a scam before they act on it. Some are standalone consumer tools. Increasingly, banks, building societies and credit unions offer one free to their customers and members, inside the channels those people already use. They are also called digital safety checkers.

Why scam awareness campaigns are not enough

Almost every financial institution and a growing number of tech companies and retailers, sends scam awareness content to customers and members. It has its place. But it asks people to spot every risk indicator in every text, email, advert and phone call, and that is getting harder as AI makes impersonation cheaper and more convincing.

The numbers show the gap. In the UK, authorised push payment (APP) fraud losses rose 19% to £576.4 million in 2025, according to UK Finance, with 66% of cases starting online and a further 17% through phone calls and texts. In the US, the FTC received more than one million reports of imposter scams in 2025, with reported losses of nearly $3.5 billion. Bank impersonation accounted for the highest losses among business imposter scams. Across all internet-enabled crime, the FBI recorded $20.9 billion in reported losses in 2025. Scams are heavily under-reported, and the Consumer Federation of America, working from the FBI's data, estimates the true US figure is at least $119 billion a year. Both sets of figures rose in a period when awareness messaging was everywhere.

Where scam controls sit today

Most scam controls sit at the point of payment or after payments are made: static warning banners, recipient verification, extra friction or holds on risky transfers. By that stage the person has often spent hours or weeks being persuaded and the warning competes with a scammer who has coached them to ignore it.

Help is more useful "left of the transaction", meaning the moments before a payment is started: when the text arrives, when the link is clicked, when a caller claims to be from the bank. A scam checker works in those moments, when a person is unsure and still open to a second opinion. They’re also useful for any unsolicited requests as engaging with requests for information can lead to more aggressive scam targeting even if that specific message did not lead to an account takeover or transfer.

Why financial institutions are well placed to offer one

People expect their bank or credit union to keep their money safe and many institutions have built that trust over generations. A safety tool carrying that brand is more likely to be used than one from a company the customer has never heard of.

There is also a direct financial case, and it differs by market. In the UK, since October 2024 payment firms have been required to reimburse most APP fraud victims up to £85,000, with the cost split between the sending and receiving firm, so every scam prevented is a cost avoided. In the US the position is less clear. Regulation E requires institutions to refund unauthorised transfers. That covers a bank impersonation scam where the criminal tricks someone into handing over login details or a passcode and then moves the money themselves. It does not cover a payment the customer was persuaded to send, which is the US equivalent of APP fraud (often called authorized payment fraud). Zelle blurs that line. Since 2023 its network rules have required participating banks and credit unions to reimburse qualifying imposter scams even when the customer authorised the payment, which goes beyond Regulation E. Purchase and investment scams sit outside both. Where neither applies, the loss stays with the customer or member, and the case for prevention rests on trust and retention as much as on reimbursement cost.

A scam checker also gives the institution something awareness content cannot: signal. Each check is a report. When many customers check the same link or phone number in the same week, the institution can see a campaign forming before it shows up in payment data. It works like a neighbourhood watch for scams.

It is fine to start small

An institution does not need to rebuild its payment journey to begin. A sensible first version looks like this:

• Offer a link and message checker in one channel, such as the website or help centre, where no app release is needed.

• Point existing scam warnings and fraud emails to it, so awareness content ends with something the customer can do.

• Measure how many checks are made, what share are flagged as risky, and what customers do next.

• Send what is learned to the fraud team, then extend the checker into the mobile app and other channels.

FALKIN builds scam prevention tools for financial institutions in the US, UK and EU.

Sources: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026, FTC, September 2026, FBI Internet Crime Report 2025, Consumer Federation of America estimate (NBC News)