Spot the scam: ten everyday situations

Suspicious. Nobody doubles transfers. Badges and accounts can be bought or hijacked, and the deadline is there to rush you. This is the classic fake giveaway.

Safe. Installing updates through the device's own settings is one of the strongest protections you have. Be wary only of pop-ups inside a browser that tell you to download something.

Suspicious. There is no such thing as validating a wallet by typing in its recovery phrase. Anyone who receives the phrase can take control of the funds.

Suspicious. Sender names are easy to fake, and the 24-hour deadline is a pressure tactic. Open the service yourself from a bookmark or the official app and check there.

Safe. You started the login, you used a saved bookmark, and the code goes into the site you opened. That is how two-factor authentication is supposed to work.

Suspicious. Banks never ask customers to move money to a safe account. Personal details can come from data leaks. Hang up and call the number printed on your card, using a different phone if you can.

Suspicious. A new online contact who steers the conversation towards a platform is the opening of a relationship scam. Real gains are never promised, and the platform is likely fake.

Suspicious. Recovery scammers target people who have already been defrauded, often using lists of victims. Nobody can promise to recover crypto, and upfront fees are a warning sign.

Suspicious. Some malware swaps copied addresses for the attacker's address. Check the whole address, not just the start and end, and treat the device as possibly infected.

Safe. You expected this message, and it arrived straight after something you did. Confirmation e-mails like this are normal. Unexpected ones are what deserve suspicion.