Scam-prevention guides
Plain-language guides to spotting and avoiding the scams people actually meet. Each one links to the specific situations it covers.
- How to Spot a Fake Recruiter
Fake recruiters pose as NVIDIA, Microsoft and other big names to steal your data, money, or login. Learn the red flags and how to verify a recruiter before you reply.
- The Signs of a Scam: Red Flags That Show Up Again and Again
Learn the universal red flags that appear in almost every scam, urgency, unexpected contact, payment or verification demands, and lookalike domains.
- How to Spot a Fake Job Offer
Fake recruiters, MLM pitches, task scams, and crypto jobs all target job seekers. Learn the red flags and how to verify an offer before you engage.
- How to Spot a Phishing Email in the Age of AI
AI now writes clean phishing emails, so bad grammar is no longer a reliable tell. Learn the modern red flags and how to verify a suspicious email safely.
- How to Spot a Scam Text Message
Fake toll, parcel, and bank texts are everywhere. Learn to spot smishing red flags and what to do if you clicked or replied to a scam text.
- How to Check if a Link Is Safe
A step-by-step guide to inspecting a link before you click, reveal the real URL, check the domain, spot lookalikes, and verify when in doubt.
- How to Avoid Online Shopping Scams
Learn to spot fake online stores, dodgy marketplace sellers, and too-good-to-be-true deals, plus a simple checklist to tell if a website is legit before you pay.
- How to Recognize a Bank Impersonation Scam
Fake bank texts, calls, and emails all use the same trick. Learn the "did you make this charge?" scam and one rule that beats it: call the number on your card.
- How to Secure and Recover a Hacked Account
A plain-language guide to locking down your accounts with strong passwords, 2FA, and passkeys, and exactly what to do to recover Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Gmail if you're hacked.
- How to Spot an Investment or Crypto Scam
Pig-butchering, fake trading platforms, "you can't withdraw without a fee," and mentor DMs, learn the patterns behind investment and crypto scams before you send money.
- How to Spot a Romance Scam
Romance scams follow a pattern: never meet, can't video, eventually ask for money, or pivot to a crypto "opportunity." Learn the signs and how to protect yourself.
- How to Protect Elderly Parents From Scams, Without Taking Away Their Independence
A practical, dignity-preserving guide for adult children: how to talk with aging parents about scams, set a family safe word, and add account protections.
- What to Do If You Got Scammed: A Calm, Step-by-Step Recovery Plan
Just realized you were scammed? Follow these ordered first steps, then branch by situation, plus exactly how and where to report the fraud.
- How to Spot an AI Voice Scam: When a Cloned Voice Fakes an Emergency
Scammers can clone a loved one's voice from seconds of audio to fake an emergency. Learn the red flags, why to hang up and call back, and set a family safe word.
- Why Scammers Ask for Gift Cards: Why That Alone Is a Scam
Gift cards, wires, and crypto are demanded because they're fast and irreversible. Learn why no real agency or company takes gift cards, and what to do.
- Can You Reverse a Wire Transfer?
Wire transfers are hard to undo, but a fast recall can sometimes work. Here is exactly what to do in the first hour, who to call, and the recovery trap to avoid.
Questions people ask
- What is Hunch?
- A calm second look on a message you're not sure about. Paste it and Hunch tells you, in plain words, what it's really asking you to do, and a safer next step.
- Is Hunch a scam?
- No. Hunch is a free tool that helps you check a message you are unsure about. The checker and the browser extension are free, need no account, and do not ask for your personal details. Detection runs on your device, so in the extension and the checker nothing from your message leaves your device. Hunch is an advisor, not a judge: it shows you what a message asks for and a safer next step, and it never charges you to see a warning.
- Is it free?
- Yes. The checker and the browser extension are free.
- Does Hunch store my messages?
- No. In the extension and the browser checker, nothing from your message leaves your device. The two features that do reach a server, the Telegram bot and the email check (check@checkyourhunch.com), work the same way: the message is read on our server to answer you, then deleted. Nothing is stored, and nothing is sent to an outside AI service.
- Do I need an account?
- No account, no sign-up. Paste a message and get an answer.
- Can Hunch catch every scam?
- No, and it won't pretend to. Hunch catches a lot, but no warning is a promise that a message is fine. Always check unexpected requests yourself.
Using Hunch in apps
- Does Hunch work in the WhatsApp app?
- Not in the WhatsApp desktop or phone app. The Hunch extension checks messages in WhatsApp Web in Chrome. Using the WhatsApp app on your computer or phone? Copy the message and check it here, with our Telegram bot, or by email at check@checkyourhunch.com.
- Does Hunch work in the Gmail app?
- Not in the Gmail phone app or a desktop mail app like Outlook or Apple Mail. The Hunch extension checks Gmail in Chrome on the web. Reading mail in an app instead? Copy the message and check it here, with our Telegram bot, or by email at check@checkyourhunch.com.