TOOL / CHECK
Before You Pay: Scam Warning Checklist
Tick whatever matches your situation right now. Every line is something that turns up repeatedly in real cases. If anything lands, put the cash away. This tool tells you what you've matched; it does not decide whether you are being defrauded.
No government agency, police force, court, tax office, utility, courier or legitimate business will ever ask you to pay through a bitcoin ATM. If you walked to this machine because of a call or a text, you don't need the checklist — hang up first.
Each line below shows up again and again in real cases. Tick anything that matches where you are right now.
Every line above is a known warning sign.
This only counts what you ticked. It does not assess your particular circumstances and will never tell you that you are being scammed — that requires facts and evidence, which a checklist cannot supply. Your selections are not uploaded anywhere.
Why one tick is enough
Because these things effectively never happen in an ordinary purchase, and almost always happen in a scam. They aren't suspicious — they're out of place.
When someone buys bitcoin normally, nobody contacts them, nobody hurries them, nobody supplies a receiving address, and nobody asks them to keep it from their family. Any single line above already puts you outside normal.
And stopping costs nothing. If this is real it will survive the night. If it can't survive the night, it was never real.
What to do having stopped
- Put the cash back in your pocket and leave the machine. Physically leave; don't stand there weighing it up.
- Hang up, and don't answer when they ring back. They will ring repeatedly, the tone will change, someone may claim to be a supervisor.
- Say the whole thing out loud to a real person. Family, friend, neighbour. This exists to break the isolation they built, and nothing works better.
- Verify with a number you found yourself — a bill, the official website, your own contacts. Never one they gave you.
- Report it, even if nothing was lost.
If the money has already gone
Straight answer: recovery is unlikely, because on-chain transfers cannot be reversed. Still worth doing — keep the receipt, transaction ID, call records and whatever address they sent; report it promptly; contact the machine operator.
Watch for the second approach
People who have been scammed are frequently contacted afterwards by someone offering to recover the funds for an upfront fee. That is usually the same group, or the next one that bought the list. Any recovery service asking for money up front deserves deep suspicion.
Common questions
How many warning signs before I should worry?
One. These things effectively do not occur in an ordinary purchase — nobody contacts you first, hurries you, supplies your receiving address or asks you to keep it from family. A single match already places the situation outside normal and is reason enough to stop and verify.
Can this tell me whether I'm being scammed?
No, and it will not claim to. It only counts how many known warning signs you have ticked. Determining that something is fraud requires facts and evidence and is a matter for law enforcement. The purpose here is simply to get you to stop before paying.
They knew my address and part of my ID number. Doesn't that mean they're real?
No. Personal data leaks widely, so knowing your name, address or part of a document number only shows the information has circulated. Caller ID displaying an official number is also easily faked. Neither is evidence of legitimacy.
Will there really be consequences if I stop?
No. Genuine debts, fines, bills and legal matters all have processing periods, arrive as written notices, offer channels to dispute, and allow you time to verify. Nothing legitimate has to be completed before you hang up the phone, which makes the urgency itself the most reliable indicator.
This lists known warning signs. It does not determine that any particular situation is a scam and is not legal advice. If you believe you are being defrauded, contact your local police and your bank.