Tidy My Mac
Free tool
Is this message a scam? Check an email, text or DM
Paste a message you're unsure about: an email, a text, a WhatsApp or social media DM. You get a verdict with the reasons, every link in it checked against our phishing lists, and what to do next.
How the check works
The message is read by the same AI analysis as the Enhanced Check in Tidy My Mac's Scam Detector, which looks for what scam messages ask you to do and how they push you to do it. At the same time every link in it is looked up in our lists of phishing, malware and scam sites. A link on those lists makes the verdict “almost certainly a scam”, whatever the wording. The message is analysed and thrown away: it isn't stored, logged or used for training.
The signs of a scam message
- It's unexpected, and it's urgent: an account locked, a parcel held, a payment failed, a fine due today.
- It asks you to act through the message: tap a link, call a number, reply with a code, scan a QR code.
- It wants money in an odd way: gift cards, crypto, a bank transfer to a person, a small “release fee”.
- The link's real address doesn't belong to the company, or is hidden behind a shortener.
- A stranger, or a friend on a new number, starts a friendly chat that turns to investing, a job or an emergency.
- A prize, refund or inheritance you never asked for.
What to do with a scam message
- Don't tap the links or call the numbers in it. If you're worried, open the company's app or type its address yourself.
- Report it: in Messages, use Report Junk; in Mail, move it to Junk. Forward scam texts to your carrier's spam number (7726 in the US and UK).
- Delete it.
If you already tapped a link or replied, our guide to spotting a scam email explains what to do next.
Questions about checking a message
Ask whether you expected it, whether it pushes you to act right now, and whether it wants you to act through the message itself. Scams nearly always tick all three. Paste it into this checker to see the specific signs.
No. The message is analysed and discarded. We record only that a check was made from your network address, for an hour or two, to stop abuse.
Opening a link rarely harms an up-to-date Mac by itself. If you typed a password, change it on the real site. If you gave card details, call your bank. If you downloaded a file, don't open it and scan your Mac.
Yes. Tidy My Mac's Scam Detector checks a pasted message on your Mac with Apple Intelligence, and Web Protection blocks the scam sites such messages link to, in every app.
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Check the sender and links in a minute, and what to do if you already clicked.
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Check a link or sign-in page before you click, and what to do if you already did.
Read the guide →Scan your Mac for malware, free for 7 days.
Just your email, no credit card. Then $19.99 for your first year, $59.99 a year after that.
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