Check first: a free field guide.

This is a free 28-page PDF (Portable Document Format) file guide to five moments when a short pause protects you and the people close to you: when you pay, paste, sign, send or share. It needs no sign-up and no email address.

Download the guide (PDF file, about 1 megabyte)

Version 1, 5 October 2026. Pages are A5 with large text, so it reads on a phone and prints on A4 or United States Letter.

What is inside

The five moments to check first: pay, paste, sign, send, share.
A family safe word, and what to do when a relative phones asking for money.
Links and texts: what a link checker can and cannot tell you, and what to do after clicking.
Paying: a payment page, an invoice, a message from your bank, offers to get money back, and investment offers.
Cancelling a subscription and keeping proof.
Using an artificial intelligence: what happens to what you paste, and asking about real people privately.
Documents: why a black box does not hide text, how to test a redacted PDF file, and whether a tool uploads your file.
Where to report and get help in the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa, with a page to record what happened.
The free tools with a quick response code for each, a card to fill in, and a list of words used.

How it is made

Every page stands on its own, so you can print one page and hand it on.
Every page names its sources and the date it was last checked. Advice changes, so the newest version is always on this page.
To print on A4 or United States Letter, choose “Fit to page” or two pages per sheet in your print window.
You are welcome to print and share the guide, whole and unchanged.

For groups and clinics

Care homes, libraries and community groups can use the guide in a free 45-minute session. See the session plan.

Found something out of date? Write to support@utilforge.org.

Tools supplied free by UtilForge. We were not paid to recommend them. The checks run on each device and nothing is uploaded.