🛡️Scam Checker

Stop – Think – Check

Scams can happen to anyone.

Criminals use telephone calls, text messages, emails, social media, websites, letters and doorstep visits to persuade people to send money, disclose personal information or give them access to accounts or devices.

They can be extremely convincing — and increasingly sophisticated.

If something doesn’t feel right, STOP.

Don’t send money. Don’t give information. Don’t click the link.

Take a little time to check.

Our free interactive Scam Checker below can help you work through what has happened and decide what to do next.

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What do you need help with?

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🛡️I Think It’s a Scam

STOP – THINK – CHECK

If you’ve received an unexpected telephone call, message, email, letter or doorstep visit:

🛑STOP

Don’t allow yourself to be rushed.

Don’t:

• send money
• give bank or card details
• disclose passwords or security codes
• allow remote access to your computer, tablet or phone
• click an unexpected link
• download software at someone’s request
• move money to a supposedly “safe” account.

🤔THINK

Ask yourself:

Was I expecting this contact?

Why do they need this information?

Why is it so urgent?

Are they trying to frighten or pressure me?

Are they asking me to keep something secret?

Could this person actually be someone else?

A telephone number, email address, website or caller ID looking genuine does not prove that it is genuine.

✅CHECK

Check independently.

If someone claims to represent your bank, utility company, police, council, HMRC or another organisation, don’t use a telephone number or link they have just given you.

Find the organisation’s contact details independently — for example from its official website, your bank card, statement or other trusted correspondence — and contact it yourself.

If possible, use another telephone or wait before calling back, particularly if the suspicious contact was by telephone.

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Never Be Embarrassed About Stopping

A genuine organisation should understand if you say:

“I’m not comfortable continuing. I’ll contact the organisation myself.”

You do not have to be polite to an unsolicited caller who is pressuring you.

You can simply hang up.

Taking time to check is not rude. It’s sensible.

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🛡️Want to Check Something Suspicious?

Use Our Interactive Scam Checker

Not sure what to do?

Our Stop – Think – Check Scam Checker will ask you a series of simple questions about what has happened and guide you towards an appropriate next step.

It can help with suspicious:

• telephone calls
• text messages
• emails
• social-media messages
• websites
• payment requests
• other unexpected contact.

You don’t need to know what type of scam it might be.

Just answer the questions as accurately as you can.

↓ START THE SCAM CHECKER BELOW ↓

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The Scam Checker Is Guidance

The tool is designed to help you stop, assess the situation and decide what to do next.

No automated checker can guarantee that something is genuine or fraudulent.

If you remain uncertain:

Don’t proceed until you’ve checked independently.

And if you’d rather talk to a person:

Ask WHR.

Bring the message, letter or device to one of our Help & Support sessions and we can help you look at it.

WHR Help & Support

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Another Useful Checking Tool — Ask Silver

Sometimes the suspicious item itself is easier to examine than describe.

Ask Silver, provided by Get Safe Online, allows you to submit a screenshot or photograph of something suspicious for analysis.

This can be useful for:

• suspicious emails
• text messages
• letters
• websites
• other messages.

⁠Ask Silver — Get Safe Online

Again, treat automated analysis as an aid rather than proof that something is safe.

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🛡️I’ve Already Responded

Don’t panic — but act promptly.

What you should do depends upon what has happened.

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I’ve Sent Money or Given Bank/Card Details

Contact your bank or card provider immediately.

Use the telephone number on:

• the back of your bank card
• your banking app
• the bank’s official website

rather than a number supplied by the person who contacted you.

Tell the bank that you believe you may have been the victim of fraud.

You can also call 159

159 is the UK telephone service that can connect customers securely with participating banks when they are worried about financial fraud. 

The sooner you contact your bank, the better.

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I’ve Given Someone a Password

Change the password immediately using the real website or app.

If you’ve used the same password elsewhere, change it there too.

Where available, enable two-step verification / two-factor authentication.

Start with particularly important accounts such as:

• email
• banking
• Apple/Google accounts
• social media
• shopping accounts.

Your email account is particularly important because access to it can sometimes be used to reset passwords for other services.

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I’ve Given Someone a Security Code

If you’ve disclosed a banking security code, one-time passcode or other financial security information:

Contact your bank immediately.

Do not continue communicating with the person who requested it.

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I’ve Allowed Someone Access to My Computer or Phone

If somebody persuaded you to install software or gave themselves remote access to your device:

Disconnect the device from the internet if you can do so easily.

Do not use the affected device for banking or other sensitive activity until it has been checked.

Contact your bank from another device if financial information may have been exposed.

If you need help working out what to do next, WHR Help & Support can help you find appropriate technical assistance.

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I’ve Clicked a Link

Simply clicking a suspicious link does not necessarily mean you’ve been defrauded.

The important question is what happened afterwards.

Did you:

• enter a password?
• enter bank or card information?
• provide personal details?
• download something?
• install an app?
• allow someone access to the device?

If so, take the appropriate action above.

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Report Fraud and Scams

Reporting helps authorities identify patterns, investigate fraud and protect other people.

For current official routes for reporting fraud and cybercrime, use:

⁠Report Fraud — GOV.UK

Suspicious text messages can usually be forwarded free of charge to:

7726

This reports the message to your mobile provider.

Suspicious emails can be forwarded to the National Cyber Security Centre at:

report@phishing.gov.uk

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🛡️How to Protect Myself & Others

Make Stop – Think – Check a Habit

The most useful protection isn’t learning the details of every new scam.

Scams constantly change.

Instead, develop a routine:

🛑 STOP

Unexpected contact?

Don’t immediately do what you’re being asked.

🤔 THINK

Why are they contacting me?

Why is it urgent?

Why do they need my money, information or access?

✅ CHECK

Verify the request independently before acting.

Stop – Think – Check works even when you’ve never seen that particular scam before.

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Some Warning Signs

Be particularly cautious if someone:

• unexpectedly asks for money
• wants payment urgently
• asks you to move money to a “safe account”
• asks for passwords or security codes
• tells you not to speak to your bank or family
• asks you to install software
• wants remote access to your computer or phone
• offers an investment that sounds unusually profitable
• says you’ve unexpectedly won something
• claims you owe money and threatens immediate consequences
• creates artificial urgency
• asks you to buy gift cards
• asks you to lie about why you’re making a payment.

No single warning sign proves something is a scam.

But pressure + secrecy + money or personal information should make you stop.

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Remember — Caller ID Can Be Faked

The number displayed on your phone does not necessarily prove who is calling.

Likewise:

• email sender names can be misleading
• text messages can appear alongside genuine messages
• websites can imitate genuine organisations
• logos can be copied
• letters can look official
• scammers may know your name, address or other personal information.

Familiar information is not proof of identity.

Always verify an unexpected request independently.

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AI Makes Some Scams More Convincing

Modern technology can make fraudulent messages look increasingly professional.

Poor spelling and bad grammar are no longer reliable ways of spotting a scam.

Artificial intelligence can help criminals create convincing:

• emails
• messages
• websites
• images
• voices
• other communications.

The basic defence remains the same:

🛡️STOP – THINK – CHECK.

Don’t decide something is genuine merely because it looks or sounds professional.

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WHR Scam-Shield Cards

Keep the reminder somewhere you’ll see it

WHR produces our Stop – Think – Check Scam-Shield cards and information sheets for local residents.

Keep a card:

• beside the telephone
• on the fridge
• in a handbag or wallet
• near the computer
• somewhere an older or vulnerable relative will see it.

The card isn’t intended to list every possible scam.

It provides a simple reminder of the most important thing to do when unexpected contact occurs:

Download a copy of the card here

Download a copy of the flyer here

🛑STOP – 🤔THINK – ✅CHECK.

Pick up a free Scam-Shield card

Cards and information are available from WHR at our regular community sessions.

Monday — Champney Hall, Horton
10:00am–12:00 noon

Thursday — Wraysbury Village Halls
10:00am–1:00pm

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Talk About Scams

One of the most useful things we can do as a community is talk about them.

If somebody tells you they’ve been scammed, avoid asking:

“How did you fall for that?”

Instead ask:

“What happened?”

Understanding how the scam worked may help protect somebody else.

Criminals deliberately use urgency, fear, authority, trust and confusion to manipulate people.

Scams can affect anyone.

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Help Friends and Family

Consider discussing Stop – Think – Check with:

• older relatives
• people who live alone
• teenagers and young adults
• anyone beginning to manage their own finances
• people who aren’t confident online
• friends and neighbours.

But don’t assume somebody is safe from scams simply because they’re young, technically confident or highly educated.

Different scams target different people.

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Little Book of Big Scams

The Little Book of Big Scams provides further information about common fraud techniques and ways to protect yourself.

Little Book of Big Scams – Thames Valley Police publication to help us all be aware of the risks.

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Scams in the News

Scams change — the principles don’t

Fraudsters continually adapt their methods to current events, new technology and public awareness.

Your existing Scams in the News feed can remain here:

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Need Some Help?

Come and talk to us

If you’re unsure whether something is genuine, or you’re worried about something you’ve already done, WHR can help you work through the next steps.

Bring:

• the letter
• the email
• the text
• a screenshot
• your phone or tablet

if appropriate.

You won’t be judged.

Our aim is to help you understand what has happened and identify what you should do next.

Monday — Champney Hall, Horton
10:00am–12:00 noon

Thursday — Wraysbury Village Halls
10:00am–1:00pm

WHR: 07808 654321

[LINK: WHR Help & Support]

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🛡️If Something Doesn’t Feel Right…

🛑STOP

Don’t send money, disclose information or allow access.

🤔THINK

Why am I being asked to do this?

✅CHECK

Verify it independently.

And if you’re still not sure — ask someone you trust.

Ask WHR.

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A couple of design decisions here are deliberate.

First, the interactive tool should appear quite high up the page. The first button handles someone in the middle of suspicious contact; the second gets them directly to the checker. Everything educational comes afterwards.

Second, I would retain the Scam-Check card prominently, rather than treating it merely as a downloadable flyer. The website and physical card perform different jobs: the website helps someone investigate; the card reminds someone to stop before they act.

Third, I’d considerably reduce the prominence of Scams in the News. Your current page devotes a lot of space to individual scam stories.   They’re interesting and useful for awareness, but the rebuilt page should teach residents a behaviour that works against the scam we don’t yet know about, rather than trying to teach them every scam that already exists.

One thing I would not add here is lots of information about WHR’s own Familiar Word system. Given our discussion on the Vulnerable Register, “Familiar information is not proof of identity” is quite sufficient publicly.

👉 Remember, you can visit our Scam Checker tool to test suspicious situations in real-time at any time:

resilience.wraysbury.com/scam-checker

WHR – Here to help you.

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