Not sure that text is real? Check it before you reply.
Paste the message, email, or link. Cautellus compares it against known scam patterns and reports from the FBI, FTC, AARP, and thousands of people who already got the same message.
Your first scan is free — no signup, one scan every 30 days. After that, Plus is $9.99/month (7-day free trial, then $9.99/mo unless you cancel).
Cautellus flags what it can recognize; it can’t promise a message is legitimate.
One box. Paste a link, type a message, or drop a screenshot. Cautellus runs 7 layers of analysis — and on image uploads, it also checks for AI-generation markers and deepfake signals in parallel.
Nothing you paste is shared publicly. Results show signs of known scams, not a guarantee.
Cautellus helps you spot signs of known scams. It can’t confirm a message, sender, or offer is legitimate.
You get a read, not a rubber stamp.
Every scan comes back as one of three results, each with the specific signals behind it. No scanner can catch everything, so we tell you exactly what we looked at and let you decide.
- Red flags foundMatches known scam patterns or reports. Don't act on it.
- Worth cautionSome signals, not enough to be sure. Verify through a channel you already trust.
- No red flags detectedWe didn't find known scam indicators in what you pasted. That's not a guarantee — new scams appear daily.
What a scan does — and doesn’t — do.
Being clear about the edges is part of being useful. Here’s the whole picture.
Every scan checks
- Wording against known scam scripts and pressure tactics
- Links: real destination, domain age, lookalike spelling
- Reports from FBI IC3, FTC, AARP, and Reddit communities
- Whether other Cautellus users have reported the same message
- Brand impersonation for commonly faked companies
A scan can’t
- Confirm who actually sent a message
- See your accounts, orders, or deliveries
- Catch a brand-new scam nobody has reported yet
- Replace calling the company on a number you already have
- Protect you after you’ve replied, clicked, or paid
Three steps, under a minute.
Paste or forward it
Texts, emails, DMs, links, phone numbers, screenshots. Or let the Chrome extension check pages as you browse.
We compare it
Against scam patterns, fresh community reports, and government fraud data, updated continuously.
You get the signals
A result, the reasons behind it, and what to do next. Save it or share it with the person who sent it to you.
What Plus actually does.
Each tool, what it checks, and where it stops. No mystery meat.
Text and email checks
Paste any message. Cautellus compares the wording against known scam scripts — fake deliveries, “hi Mom” number swaps, account suspensions, prize claims — and pulls the links out for their own check.
Checks the words and links you paste. Can’t confirm who actually sent it.
Link checks
See where a link really goes before you tap it. We resolve redirects, check how recently the domain was registered, look for lookalike spellings of brands, and compare against reported phishing domains.
Checks the destination at scan time. Pages can change after you scan.
Phone number lookup
Enter the number that called or texted you. We check it against community reports and known scam-caller lists and tell you how many people have flagged it, and for what.
Based on reports. A number with no reports isn’t cleared; it may just be new.
Screenshot and AI image checks
Upload a screenshot of a message, listing, or profile photo. We read the text out of it for a normal scan, and run the image through detectors that look for signs it was AI-generated or edited.
Detectors give a likelihood, not a verdict. Real photos can be edited; fakes can be clean.
Chrome extension
One click checks the page you’re on — shop, login form, giveaway, “your computer is infected” popup — and shows signals in the corner of the browser before you enter anything.
Checks the page you ask it to. Doesn’t watch everything you browse or read your passwords.
Breach checker
Enter your email and see which known data breaches it appears in, so you know which passwords to change first and which “we have your password” emails are recycling old leaks.
Covers breaches that have been published. Not every breach is.
Community reports
Every result shows whether other Cautellus users have reported the same message, number, or link. When you report one, the next person who gets it sees your warning.
Reports are anonymous and never published with your name.
Built on reports, not guesses.
Cautellus started after its founder was scammed and couldn’t find one place that would just say “yes, that’s a known one.” So the scanner pulls from the places that track fraud for a living, plus the people who got the same message yesterday.
One plan. $9.99 a month.
Your first scan is free — no signup, one every 30 days — so you can see a real result first. Everything after that is Plus.
Plus
- Unlimited text, email, link, phone, and screenshot checks
- Chrome extension page scanning
- AI image and deepfake likelihood checks
- Breach checker
- Community reports on every result
- Scan history and shareable results
Free for 7 days, then $9.99/month unless you cancel. Cancel anytime from your account (self-serve); you keep access until the end of the billing period.
Cautellus helps you spot signs of known scams. It can’t confirm a message, sender, or offer is legitimate.
For AI agents & developers
Your AI agent clicks links. Give it instincts.
Connect the Cautellus MCP server and your agent checks every link and message against the same scam intelligence before it acts. Pay-as-you-go credits from $10 — API key issued instantly, no subscription.
Questions people ask before they paste anything.
Is the scanner free?
One free scan is included every 30 days — no signup — so you can see exactly what a result looks like. Continued scanning is Plus, $9.99 a month (with a 7-day free trial that renews at $9.99/mo unless you cancel).
If it says “no red flags detected,” is the message legitimate?
Not necessarily. It means we didn’t find known scam indicators in what you pasted. New scams appear daily, and we can’t see who really sent a message. If money or account access is involved, verify through a number or site you already trust.
What happens to what I paste?
It’s used to run your scan and isn’t stored or published with your name. Cautellus doesn’t keep the text of your message after the scan runs.
Does the Chrome extension read everything I browse?
It checks pages and links for scam signals when you ask it to and shows a warning when it finds one. It doesn’t capture passwords or form entries.