Is This Payment Request Safe?

What Our Tool Checks

• Payment method requested (gift cards and crypto are high-risk)
• Urgency and threat framing ('pay now or face consequences')
• Sender identity and verifiability
• Whether the request matches any service you actually ordered
• Authority impersonation (IRS, police, tech support)

Common Warning Signs

• Payment demanded in gift cards, wire transfer, or crypto
• Claim you owe money to avoid arrest, account suspension, or utility cutoff
• Invoice from a company you do not recognise
• Pressure to pay immediately before verifying
• 'Confidential' — told not to discuss with anyone

What Not to Submit

To protect your privacy, never paste these into any tool — and never submit passwords, OTPs, card numbers, bank logins, or private IDs.

• Credit or debit card numbers
• Bank account or routing numbers
• Crypto wallet seed phrases
• Your account password or login credentials

What to Do If Something Looks Suspicious

• Verify payment requests through the official app or website before sending money.
• Call the sender using a number from their official website — not the one in the message
• Verify the invoice against your own purchasing records
• Never pay a 'fine' or 'debt' in gift cards — no legitimate entity asks for this
• Report payment scams at reportfraud.ftc.gov

Related Safety Checkers

Other checks in the Payments & Invoices category:

View all 20 safety checkers →