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SafeCart Field Guide  ·  № 01

How to Spot a Scam

Fake stores, phishing, payment traps — they all share the same fingerprints. Learn the six-second gut check once, and you'll feel the wrongness before you ever type your card.
The six-second gut check
  1. 1

    Too good to be true

    A $600 item for $89 isn't luck. If the deal is impossible, it's bait.

  2. 2

    Manufactured urgency

    Countdown timers and "only 2 left" exist to stop you thinking.

  3. 3

    The address is off

    paypa1, not paypal. Read every domain letter by letter.

  4. 4

    Brand-new website

    Registered days ago, no reviews, no history. A free whois lookup shows its age.

  5. 5

    Unusual payment

    Gift cards, wire transfer, crypto, or a "release fee" — walk away.

  6. 6

    You didn't ask for it

    An out-of-the-blue text or email pushing you to act right now — that pressure is the scam.

The usual suspects
Fake online store
Bait: a huge discount on a hot product.  Tell: lookalike domain, fake countdown, no real reviews.
"Redelivery fee" text
Bait: "$1.99 to release your parcel."  Tell: carriers never text you for money.
"Payment failed" email
Bait: "update your card or lose access."  Tell: real brands don't fix billing through an email link.
"You've been paid"
Bait: "confirm your card to release the funds."  Tell: money coming IN never needs your card.
Lookalike login
Bait: "verify your account now."  Tell: read the domain — amaz0n, paypa1, g00gle.
Gift-card demand
Bait: "settle your bill with a gift card."  Tell: no real company or agency EVER takes gift cards.
If you remember one thing
When something rushes you to pay or click — slow down. Open the app or type the real address yourself, and never pay by gift card.

You shouldn't have to remember all this.

SafeCart runs this gut check for you — automatically — and warns you the second a checkout looks fake. Free, private, one click.

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