Free scam checker — is it a scam?
Paste any link, listing, message or email into the SilentID app. Safety Check screens it against 14 fraud signals and 50,000+ reported UK scams. 3 free checks per day, no signup.
Free download. iOS & Android. UK-first.
SilentID’s Safety Check is a free UK scam checker built into the SilentID mobile app. Paste a marketplace listing, link, website, suspicious text or email — Safety Check screens it against 14 fraud signals and 50,000+ reported UK scams, then returns a verdict (“Looks safe”, “Suspicious” or “Likely scam”) with the reasons listed. 3 free checks per day, no signup.
How big is UK marketplace and online scam fraud right now?
UK marketplace fraud is now the largest single category of consumer fraud — £160,000 is stolen on Facebook Marketplace every single day, 73% of UK purchase fraud starts there, and 37% of British adults have already been scammed at least once. Only 18% ever recover their money (Cifas). That is why Safety Check exists.
UK marketplace fraud is documented by TSB at £160,000 stolen on Facebook Marketplace every day (Source: TSB, 2025), 73% of UK purchase fraud beginning on Facebook Marketplace and 37% of Brits saying they have already been scammed on a marketplace (Source: Experian). Cifas data shows only 18% of victims ever recover their money.
The pattern is the same whether the contact is a Vinted seller, a DPD smishing text, a phishing email pretending to be from your bank or a fake delivery link — fraudsters reuse a small set of templates and signals. Spotting them early is the only reliable defence. That is what Safety Check does, and what this page teaches.
How does SilentID Safety Check work?
Safety Check is a 14-signal scam screen inside the SilentID mobile app — paste a marketplace listing, link, website, suspicious text or email and you get a verdict in under five seconds with the exact red flags listed. It runs on iOS and Android. There is no scanning tool on this website — running the check requires the app so we can show you a live verdict, not a stale article.
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Paste what you want checked
Open SilentID, tap Safety Check, paste a listing URL, link, website, suspicious text body or forwarded email.
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Safety Check runs the 14-signal screen
We look at price, account, images, language, links, payment demands, sender, brand impersonation and cross-platform scam reports — typically in under five seconds.
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Read the verdict and the reasons
"Looks safe", "Suspicious" or "Likely scam" — with the specific signals that triggered shown so you can decide for yourself.
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Take the safer next step
If suspicious: walk away, switch to PIN Pickup for any in-person collection, or escalate to Report a Scam (Pro) to generate an Action Fraud-ready PDF.
The 14 fraud signals Safety Check screens for
Safety Check is decision-support, not a guarantee — and the more of these signals you can spot yourself, the safer you stay between checks. Each signal below maps to thousands of real reported UK scams.
Price too good to be true
Listing or offer is significantly below the UK market range for the same item, model or service. The single highest-correlation signal in marketplace fraud.
Account age and history
Profile created in the last 30 days, sparse posting history, or no rating from prior sales. New accounts are over-represented in scam reports.
Image reuse and reverse-search hits
Photos lifted from other listings, manufacturer stock images or earlier eBay/Vinted ads. Genuine sellers post their own clearly-lit photos.
Stolen-listing duplication
The same listing posted in multiple UK cities at the same time, or copied word-for-word from a legitimate seller elsewhere.
Off-platform pressure
Seller pushes the conversation to WhatsApp, Telegram or SMS within the first few messages — a common tactic to escape platform moderation.
Unsafe payment demand
Insists on bank transfer, PayPal Friends & Family, gift cards or crypto. Refuses any payment method that protects the buyer.
Deposit before viewing
Asks for a "holding deposit" or "courier booking fee" before you can inspect the item. Money disappears the moment it lands.
Urgency and scarcity scripting
Fake countdowns, "another buyer is on the way", "decide in the next ten minutes". Pressure to skip the normal due-diligence steps.
Smishing pattern match
Text or message body matches a known UK smishing template (Royal Mail redelivery, HMRC tax rebate, EE/O2 bill, NHS Covid pass, parcel courier reschedule).
Phishing link and lookalike domain
URL uses Punycode, a recently-registered domain, a typosquat (rnyaccount.co.uk vs myaccount.co.uk), or a free TLD designed to mimic a bank or retailer.
Brand impersonation
Sender name, logo or sign-off mimics a known UK brand (Royal Mail, DPD, NHS, HMRC, your bank) but the underlying domain or sender does not match.
Spoofed sender or display name
Email From-name says one thing, the actual address says another. Caller ID or message header has been faked. Common in business email compromise (BEC).
Cross-platform scam reports
The seller, phone number, email or domain has been reported on Trustpilot, ScamAdviser, Action Fraud, the SilentID community, or another scam database.
AI-generated content tells
Listing copy and product photos show AI generation artefacts — uniform lighting, impossible reflections, repeated phrases. Increasingly common in 2025-2026 fraud rings.
What do real UK marketplace and online scams look like?
Most UK scams follow one of five repeating templates: too-good-to-be-true marketplace listings, courier impersonation texts, bank impersonation phishing, fake delivery slips, and phishing-link DMs. Below are anonymised examples of each pattern, drawn from real Safety Check submissions and UK Action Fraud reporting. Spotting the template is the entire skill — the wording changes weekly but the structure is fixed.
Four common UK scam patterns Safety Check sees every day. Names, phone numbers and exact amounts are altered.
Example 1 — “Vinted local pickup, brand-new condition”
A Vinted seller lists a £900 pair of Air Jordans for £180. Profile is 11 days old, no prior sales, three identical listings posted across London, Manchester and Birmingham within an hour. They push the buyer to WhatsApp and ask for a £40 “reservation deposit” via bank transfer before viewing.
Safety Check verdict: Likely scam. Triggers price-too-good, account age, stolen-listing duplication, off-platform pressure, deposit-before-viewing and unsafe-payment-demand signals.
Example 2 — “Royal Mail redelivery” smishing text
A text from a UK mobile number says: “Royal Mail: a £2.99 surcharge is required to release your parcel. Pay here: royalmail-redelivery.top/pay”. The link is a 14-day-old domain, not on any Royal Mail-owned TLD, and the page asks for full card details plus a one-time bank passcode.
Safety Check verdict: Likely scam. Triggers smishing-template-match, phishing-link, brand-impersonation and spoofed-sender signals. Reported in our database 412 times in the last 30 days.
Example 3 — “Is this website legit” (fake retailer)
A Facebook Reels ad sends the user to a sleek storefront selling designer bags at 70% off. The domain was registered 9 days ago, uses a free TLD, has no trading address, no UK company number and accepts only bank transfer or crypto.
Safety Check verdict: Likely scam. Triggers phishing-link, AI-generated-content, unsafe-payment-demand and cross-platform-scam-report signals.
Example 4 — “HMRC tax rebate” phishing email
Email from “HMRC Refund Service” promises a £247.50 rebate. From-name reads HMRC; actual sender is a free Outlook address. The link goes to a lookalike Government Gateway page asking for your full bank details and a Government Gateway password.
Safety Check verdict: Likely scam. Triggers spoofed-sender, brand-impersonation, phishing-link and urgency-and-scarcity signals.
When should I run a Safety Check?
Run Safety Check any time you receive a marketplace listing link, an unexpected text from a courier or bank, a delivery email, a suspicious DM with a link, or before you send money to someone you only know online. Five-second screen. Three free runs per day cover almost every household need; Pro lifts the cap.
- Before paying: any marketplace listing over £20, any time the seller asks for a deposit, any time you’re asked to pay outside the platform.
- Before clicking: any unexpected text or email with a link, especially “you owe” or “reschedule delivery” messages.
- Before sharing: any website asking for your bank details, address, ID or one-time codes.
- After the fact: if something has already happened, paste the message anyway — Safety Check helps build the evidence pack you’ll need for Action Fraud and your bank.
What does the UK fraud data actually look like?
UK consumers lose £160,000/day on Facebook Marketplace alone, 73% of all UK purchase fraud starts there, 37% of Brits have been scammed on a marketplace, and only 18% ever recover their money. Sources: TSB 2025, Experian, Cifas. These are the numbers Safety Check is built around.
Scam-checker guides by category
Pick the type of message or listing you’re trying to verify for a focused walkthrough — each guide lists the specific signals that matter for that channel.
- Is this Facebook Marketplace listing a scam?
- Is this Vinted seller a scam?
- Is this email a scam? (UK phishing check)
- Is this text message a scam? (UK smishing)
- Is this link safe? (UK link checker)
Related
Frequently asked questions
Run your first Safety Check
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Reviewed by the SilentID editorial team. We update each guide quarterly with new UK fraud data.