Protecting people
from email fraud.

Why this exists

Phishing is the most reported cybercrime there is. In 2025 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 191,561 phishing and spoofing complaints — more than any other category of online crime — out of a record 1,008,597 complaints in total. Most people, even tech-savvy ones, can't reliably tell a real email from their bank apart from a well-made fake. ScanTheSender exists to give anyone a fast second opinion.

No signup. No cost. No data stored. Just paste an email and know in seconds.

Figures from the FBI 2025 Internet Crime Report. Last updated July 2026.

How It Works

• Step 1 — Paste the suspicious email. Copy the full email including subject line, sender address, and body text into the scanner on the homepage.
• Step 2 — AI scans for threat patterns. The AI model analyses the email for urgency language, sender impersonation, suspicious links, phishing tactics, and dozens of other red flags.
• Step 3 — Get a plain-English verdict. Within seconds you receive a Safe / Suspicious / Scam verdict, risk scores, specific flags, and clear advice on what to do next.

Who runs ScanTheSender

ScanTheSender is run by one person — not a company, and not a security firm. I built it because friends and family kept forwarding me suspicious emails asking "is this real?", and there was no quick, free way for them to check.

I'm not a security researcher, and I don't pretend to be. What I do is keep the guidance here tied to what the actual authorities say: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Trade Commission in the US, and Action Fraud, the NCSC and GOV.UK in the UK. Every article here is checked against those sources before it goes live, and the scanner's verdict is always a second opinion — never a guarantee.

If something on this site is wrong or out of date, please tell me — I'd rather fix it than leave it.

Why Is It Free?

I believe protection from scams shouldn't cost money. ScanTheSender is free and funded by non-intrusive advertising. I don't sell your data, don't require a subscription, and don't lock anything behind a paywall.