ScamVu vs Beacon

Scammers target everyone — but they're especially relentless with older adults, using increasingly convincing tricks like fake government calls, too-good-to-be-true prizes, and urgent threats. ScamVu was built with older adults in mind, and teaches anyone to recognize the patterns calmly, before they can catch you off guard. WHAT'S INSIDE Know the Patterns More than 40 of the most common scams explained clearly — IRS impersonation, Medicare fraud, romance scams, tech support cons, lottery tricks, grandparent scams, fake calendar invites, and more. Tap any scam to see the exact warning signs and what to do. Check a Message Not sure if something's a scam? Paste or type the message and get an instant read — what's suspicious about it and exactly what to do next, tailored to what was actually found. Guided Check Walk through a few simple questions about a call, text, or email you received, and get a clear risk level plus next steps — no message required. Practice Quiz More than 50 real-world scenarios presented as text messages, phone calls, emails, and social messages. You decide: scam or real? Instant feedback explains why — so the lesson sticks. Daily Tip A new scam-safety tip every day, right on your Home screen or in the ScamVu widget. Help Now If something already happened, this screen walks you through exactly what to do, step by step. Free hotlines connect you directly to the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Elder Fraud Hotline, Adult Protective Services, and more. Keep a Log Track any suspicious contact you've had, all in one place. Export your log anytime to save, email, or share with family. About & Sources Every statistic comes from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Numbers and hotlines are verified before every update. SIMPLE AND PRIVATE BY DESIGN - Available in English and Spanish - Large, easy-to-read text that grows with your iPhone's text size setting - Works fully with VoiceOver - Works with Siri and Shortcuts - Optimized for iPhone Duo and other large displays - No account, no login, no password to remember - No ads, no tracking, no data collection of any kind - Everything stays on your phone — nothing is sent anywhere Scammers count on surprise and panic. ScamVu gives you the knowledge to slow down, recognize what's happening, and protect yourself and your family.

Not sure if that text is a scam? Paste it into Beacon and see instantly — plus exactly which words made the model suspicious. Beacon uses a machine learning model trained on real scam and spam messages to flag likely threats in seconds. Learn exactly what makes a scam message dangerous by seeing the specific highlighted words that are suspicious. Explore real scam messages reported by our users to discover and protect yourselves from real threats today. With Beacon, become a part of the community that shines light on scam protection. FEATURES • Instant detection — paste any text message and get a prediction in seconds • See the "why" — suspicious words are highlighted directly in your message, with darker highlighting showing stronger signals • Confidence score — how confident our model is that your message is a scam • Scam categories — personal, service, lottery/prize, and premium-rate scams are each identified and explained • Community forum — browse real scam messages reported by other users, filter by category, and upvote or downvote what you find • Report what you catch — help other users recognize the same scam by reporting it to the community anonymously WHY BEACON Scam texts are only getting harder to spot. Beacon was built to make scam detection transparent instead of mysterious — you should be able to see why something looks suspicious, not just be told that it is. A NOTE ON ACCURACY Beacon's predictions are not 100% accurate. It's a tool to help you think critically about a suspicious message — not a replacement for your own judgment. Always use caution with unfamiliar messages, links, and requests for personal information. Got a scam that slipped past? Report it. Every submission helps make Beacon — and the community around it — a little sharper.