Scams and phishing: what to do now

The damage depends on what happened next. These guides put the urgent steps first.

• I clicked a phishing link: what to do now

  Close the page, then deal with what you typed, downloaded or allowed after the click.

  First step

  1Close the page and type nothing more

  URL scanner7 steps

• I entered my password on a phishing site: what to do now

  Change the password on the real site and everywhere you reused it, then lock the account down.

  First step

  1Change the password on the real site, now

  Password breach checkerURL scanner7 steps

• Tech support scam pop-up: what to do now

  Don’t call the number: close the page, and if you already called, cut the remote access.

  First step

  1Don’t call the number

  Phone number checkerURL scanner6 steps

• QR code phishing (quishing): what to do

  Read the link before you open it, and pay through the official app or site you open yourself.

  First step

  1Look at the code itself

  URL scanner5 steps

You may not have acted yet. Check before you reply, call back or open anything; each guide also says what to do if you already did.

• Sextortion email demanding bitcoin: what to do

  A bluff sent in bulk: don’t pay or reply, change any password it quotes, report it.

  First step

  1Don’t reply and don’t pay

  Crypto wallet checkerPassword breach checkerEmail checker5 steps

• Got a scam call or text message? What to do now

  Hang up, call back on a number you find yourself, and never read out a code.

  First step

  1Hang up, or leave the text unanswered

  Phone number checkerURL scanner6 steps

• Suspicious email attachment: check the file before you open it

  Leave it closed, confirm with the sender another way, and check its hash if you want a second opinion.

  First step

  1Already opened it? Disconnect and scan

  File hash lookup7 steps

A payment is hard to undo, and some can’t be undone at all. Check first.

• Before you send crypto: how to spot the scam

  Check the address, the platform and the reason you are asked to pay: a crypto payment rarely comes back.

  First step

  1Stop if the request fits a scam pattern

  Crypto wallet checkerURL scanner5 steps

• Is this website legit? How to spot a fake shop or lookalike domain

  Read the address, check the domain and the business behind it, and pay only in a way you can dispute.

  First step

  1Read the address, not the page

  Domain reputation checkDomain age checkerURL scanner6 steps

• Fake invoice or changed bank details: what to do before you pay

  Call the supplier on a number you already had before paying any new bank details.

  First step

  1Don’t pay, and don’t reply to the email

  Email checkerDomain reputation check7 steps