Step 1
Paste the advert’s words
On a phone, press and hold the text and choose Copy, then paste it here. If the app does not let you copy, type the main words yourself. You can leave the box empty and only tick what you can see below. The check reads the words only; it does not open the link or look at the picture.
Step 2
Tick what you can see
What has been reported about scam adverts
Adverts on social media are paid for, and the platforms review them before and after they run. What follows is what has been reported, with dates and sources, so you can see why checking an advert yourself matters.
- 6 November 2025. Reuters reported, from internal documents at Meta Platforms (the company that runs Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), that Meta projected about 10 per cent of its 2024 revenue, roughly $16 billion, would come from adverts for scams and banned goods, and that users were shown an estimated 15 billion higher-risk scam adverts a day. The figure is a projection from internal documents, and Meta disputes it: its spokesperson, Andy Stone, called the 10.1 per cent estimate “rough and overly-inclusive” and said the documents give a “selective view”. Meta says it removed over 134 million pieces of scam advert content in 2025 (Which?, 12 November 2025, Meta predicted 10% of its revenue came from scam ads last year, leaked documents show).
- 22 October 2026. The Attorney General of the state of Rhode Island, in the United States, filed a lawsuit against Meta alleging that it tolerates scam adverts. Meta calls the lawsuit “unfounded” and says it will fight it. These are allegations, and a court has not decided them (PYMNTS, 23 October 2026, Rhode Island lawsuit claims Meta knowingly profits from financial scam ads).
This page is about what you can check yourself, whichever company shows the advert: who pays for it, where its link goes, and whether the shop or company exists when you search for it on your own. These links open other websites, and this page does not load anything from them.
What you paste stays on your device
The check runs on your own phone or computer, inside this page. The page’s security setting (a Content Security Policy, a rule the browser enforces) blocks it from connecting to any server after it has loaded, so what you paste stays on your device.
- No sign-up and no cookies.
- Press Clear or close the tab, and what you pasted is gone.
- To confirm it yourself on a computer, open your browser’s developer tools, choose the Network tab, then run a check: no new request appears. You can also switch the internet off once the page has loaded, and it still works.
What the advert check looks for
Each sign below comes with one sentence on why it matters, and a step to take instead.
1. Pressure and countdowns
A timer, “only 3 left” or “ends in 10 minutes” is meant to stop you checking. Instead, search for the shop yourself and read its reviews and returns page. A real offer is still there afterwards.
2. A price or prize that is too good to be true
This includes mystery boxes, prizes you did not enter for, discounts of 70 per cent or more, and “free” gifts where you pay only postage, which is a way to collect card details. Instead, compare the price on the maker’s own site, and never enter card details to receive something free.
3. A celebrity or news name
Criminals copy faces, voices and news logos, including with artificial intelligence (a deepfake). Instead, look for the same announcement on the person’s or news brand’s own site or verified account.
4. Guaranteed returns, get-rich offers and crypto
No genuine investment can guarantee a profit. Instead, check the firm on your financial regulator’s register, typed in by you, and use the investment check.
5. Job or “task” commission offers
A job that pays you for liking videos, boosting products or completing online tasks, or that asks you to pay to start, matches a common scam. Instead, contact the employer on the number on its own website, and use the recruiter check.
6. Moving the conversation to WhatsApp, Telegram or a private message
This takes the conversation out of sight of the platform. Instead, use the contact details on the company’s own website.
7. An unusual way to pay
Gift cards, a bank transfer to a person, money-sending services and crypto cannot be reversed. Instead, pay only by a method that lets you dispute the payment, on a site you found yourself.
8. Copying a known shop or bank
The check does not hold a list of brand names, so it cannot mislabel a real advert. It looks for the pattern: a giveaway in the name of a supermarket, retailer, bank or courier, a shortened link, or a web address with a hyphenated name and an unusual ending. Instead, search for the organisation yourself.
9. A request for a login, code or identity document
A real company does not ask for a password, a code sent to your phone, a card number or a photo of your passport in an advert. Instead, open the app or website yourself.
10. A phone number for support, bookings or refunds
Criminals buy adverts, including sponsored search results, that put their own phone number next to a trusted company’s name. Instead, call the number printed on your card, bill or booking confirmation, or on the company’s own website typed in by you.
Also noted
The page behind the advert being recent, comments being switched off, and an advert that insists it is “not a scam” are each counted as a smaller sign.
What “Sponsored” means
“Sponsored” only means someone paid for the advert to be shown, not that it has been checked.
What this check cannot do
It reads only the words you paste and the signs you tick. It cannot see the picture or video, open the link, see who runs the page or how old it is, or know whether the shop exists. A new scam wording can get past it, and it does not read other languages well. A result of “no common warning signs found in this wording” means only that the signs it looks for were not found in the words you pasted. It is never a statement that an advert, a shop or a company is genuine. It never names a brand as good or bad.
How UtilForge tested this tool
Before release, the advert check was run against 43 written test cases made up for the purpose, with invented names and wording and no real advert copied. Fourteen are modelled on ordinary adverts, such as a shop sale with an honest end date, a library event, a charity appeal, a job advert that asks for no money, and adverts that say they never ask for gift cards or one-time codes; none of these may be marked as a stop sign, and the ones that name no warning sign must come back with no warning signs found. Nineteen are modelled on the patterns described on this page, such as a postage-only mystery box with a countdown, a celebrity promoting guaranteed crypto returns, a task-commission job that asks you to message WhatsApp, and a gift card giveaway in a supermarket’s name that asks you to pay shipping; each must come back as take care or stop. Five cover the tick boxes, and five are edge cases, including empty input, invisible characters, spaced-out letters and code pasted into the box. The wording rules handle negation in the same way as the UtilForge.org virtual private network check: “we will never ask you to pay by gift card” is not marked, while “we never ask for your password, but pay by gift card” is. The page was also checked at phone width, and its security setting blocks all outside requests. The test cases cannot cover every advert, so a new wording can get past the check.
Questions and answers
Does Sponsored mean an advert has been checked?
No. Sponsored only means someone paid for the advert to be shown, not that it has been checked. Search for the shop or company yourself in your browser or app store before you tap, pay or reply.
An advert shows a celebrity. Is it real?
Do not assume so. Criminals copy faces, voices and news logos, including with artificial intelligence, so a familiar person in an advert does not show that they know about it. Look for the same announcement on the person’s own verified account or website, typed in by you.
An advert says I only pay for postage. Is that safe?
Be careful. A free item with a small postage-only payment is a well-known way to collect card details and then start monthly charges. Do not enter card details on the page the advert opens. Search for the maker yourself and read the full terms first.
Can this check tell me an advert is safe?
No. It reads only the words you paste and the signs you tick. It cannot see the picture, open the link or know whether the shop exists. A result of no common warning signs found in this wording is not a statement that the advert is genuine.
How do I report a scam advert?
Report it inside the app where you saw it, using the options next to the advert. If you already paid or gave details, contact your bank or card company straight away, and use the first-hour guide, which lists where to report in your country.
Fifteen household checks, kept on your own device
The Family Safety Tools pack gathers fifteen UtilForge checks for payments, scams and investments into files you keep and use at home. You pay what you want, including nothing, and the free tools on this site stay free.
See Family Safety ToolsPay what you want