SCARS Institute

IS IT A SCAM?

A SCARS Institute Scam Detection Diagnostic: SMS, Message, and Direct Message Scams
25 Yes-or-No Questions

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Save your work and return later

You have the option to save your work and return later as you wish. Each finished section is saved to the SCARS Institute under a resume code, without your identity. Your resume code is the only way to bring your answers back, so keep it somewhere safe and treat it like a password.

The SCARS Institute provides this diagnostic to help you find out whether a text message, direct message, or messaging-app conversation follows the recognized patterns of smishing, impersonation, phishing, financial fraud, account takeover, extortion, identity theft, or social engineering. You can save your result to share with a trusted person, your bank, the platform, or law enforcement.

Start or Continue

Twenty-five Yes-or-No questions in five sections. Most people finish in ten minutes. If you need to stop, your answers are saved at the end of each section under a resume code.

Start the diagnostic

You will receive a resume code so you can stop and return on any device.

Enter a resume code

Pick up where you stopped, or bring back a finished result from the past 90 days.

Before You Begin

This diagnostic checks whether a text message, social media direct message, messaging-app conversation, or voice-message exchange follows the recognized patterns of smishing, impersonation, phishing, financial fraud, account takeover, extortion, identity theft, or social engineering.

Scammers reach people through SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, LinkedIn, dating platforms, gaming services, and other channels. They impersonate banks, government agencies, employers, delivery services, family members, friends, celebrities, businesses, police, and customer service. A familiar photo, profile name, phone number, writing style, or existing message thread does not prove the sender is genuine. Criminals spoof numbers, take over real accounts, copy profiles, steal photographs, and use personal information to make messages convincing.

Answer alone. Do not reply to the sender or ask them to help you answer.

  1. Answer Yes when the behavior or condition is present, even if the sender gave a believable explanation.
  2. Answer No only when the behavior is absent, or when you verified the sender and the request yourself through a separate channel the sender does not control.

The result is a Scam Risk Index from 0% to 100%. It measures how closely the conversation matches recognized message-scam patterns. It does not authenticate a sender or certify a link.

Please Note. This diagnostic was developed by the SCARS Institute from its work with tens of thousands of scam victims. It is a crime-detection screening tool, not a psychological assessment, not a security audit, and not legal advice. A high score identifies a probable crime in progress. A low score does not prove that a message is genuine.
Answer alone. Do not reply to the sender, tap links, or scan QR codes while you answer. Your answers are saved in this browser as you go and to the SCARS Institute at the end of each section.
Why this matters
Answer Yes or No to continue
Save this result before leaving the page. Use the "Save My Results" button below. Your resume code also brings this result back for 90 days.
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SMS, Message, and Direct Message Scam

— An SMS, message, or direct message scam is a fraudulent communication sent through text messaging, social media, dating platforms, or private messaging applications to obtain money, information, account access, or control over a device. The criminal may impersonate a bank, government agency, delivery service, employer, family member, friend, celebrity, or customer-service representative while using urgency, fear, affection, curiosity, or an apparent wrong-number message to begin the interaction. These scams frequently direct the recipient to click a deceptive link, scan a QR code, provide a security code, download an application, send money, purchase cryptocurrency, complete paid online tasks, or move the conversation to an encrypted platform. A recipient protects against the scheme by refusing the requested action, preserving the communication, and independently contacting the claimed person or organization through an established channel, because a familiar profile, photograph, telephone number, or existing account does not prove the sender’s identity.

— Digital Communication Fraud

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