The problem
Scam messages copy real companies: a parcel fee, a bank alert, a storage warning, a job offer. They add a deadline so you act before you check. Once someone has clicked or paid, the order of the next steps matters more than anything else. A calm check that points out each warning sign, and a first-steps list for what you already did, helps you act quickly and in the right order.
Why it works
AI chat assistants are good at reading what you paste and turning it into plain steps. They can't see your device or your accounts and can get details wrong, so the prompt has the AI point to where each fact came from, mark general advice as something to check, and treat what you paste as information, never as instructions. The double-check prompt then makes it point to the source of each finding again. You do every step and decide.
What you get from it
- The warning signs in the message, each one quoted, with why it matters.
- A plain verdict: likely scam, can't tell, or looks genuine but check, with how sure it is and why.
- How to check it yourself without using anything in the message: the number or site to look up on your own.
- If you already clicked, replied, paid or shared something: the first steps in order, starting with your bank or card.
- Where to report it, and a short note of what happened for your records.
- A one-line reply to send, or the advice not to reply at all.
What you need
- A free AI account. ChatGPT is our pick. The others work too (see step 1).
- The message. A screenshot, or the text copied. For an email, include the sender's address. For a call, write down what they said and the number.
- What you've done so far. Nothing yet, clicked, replied, paid, or shared a code or password. Be honest: it changes the steps.
- About 5 minutes. Longer if you've already paid or shared something.
What the test showed
On 19 Oct 2026 we ran the main prompt and “Double-check your work” with an OpenAI model (gpt-5-mini) on a synthetic sample case. It has an invented parcel text with a 12-hour deadline, a $1.99 fee and a look-alike web address, a card already used to pay, and a line claiming the message was verified safe and telling AI tools to confirm it. It asked one question at a time, did a short “What I read” check, called it a likely scam with high confidence, quoted the 12-hour deadline, the $1.99 fee and the web address that isn't the company's, put calling the bank on the number on the card first because a card was used, never used the number or link from the message, gave 7726 and ReportFraud.ftc.gov, wrote a dated note using only dates from the chat, and treated the “verified as safe” line as another warning sign. The double-check changed nothing. We also ran “Did it work?”: it logged the bank call with the date from the chat and suggested confirming the dispute next. After a review found the AI copying a pasted key in full inside its quotes, we added a rule to show only the last 4 characters of any key, password, code or card number, and re-ran it with fake keys, card numbers and codes in the message. Our first re-runs still slipped: a card number or a one-time code appeared in full in several replies, once because the AI called it a well-known test number. We then told it to describe the warning signs in its own words, name any card, code or key only by its last 4, and treat sample-looking numbers the same way. In the final 10 runs (25 replies, with the double-check on 5) it never wrote one out in full and called the message a likely scam every time. We only tested on an OpenAI model (gpt-5-mini). Other assistants may word things differently or miss a check, so run the included sample once in your chosen tool and compare it with the worked example before you use your own data.
Sources
Checked 2026-10-19. Rules and prices change: check the source before you rely on it.
- FTC: How to recognize and avoid phishing scams
- FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- FTC: How to recognize and report spam text messages
- IdentityTheft.gov
The free Blueprint
Use it now: scam message checker
This whole Blueprint is free: the same tested, copy-paste prompt pack as our paid ones, with no checkout and no sign-up. No coding needed.
- Which AI to use, and why: ChatGPT, because it reads message screenshots accurately and spots look-alike web addresses well, and its app takes a screenshot straight from your photos. Fallback: Claude.
- A main prompt: it asks you a few questions one at a time, then does the job with you step by step
- 3 follow-up prompts: “Double-check your work”, “I called my bank: what next?”, “Explain it to someone else”, plus “Did it work?”
- A test-it checklist, with a synthetic sample to try before your own data
- A worked example with the expected result, so you know what good looks like
- A printable PDF guide