These are written for someone deciding what to do right now, not for someone studying the subject. Each describes a method as it appears in the reports we receive, says plainly where an indicator is ambiguous rather than presenting every one as damning, and ends with what to do if it has already happened.

They are general information, not advice about your particular situation. If you would like someone to look at a specific matter, get in touch.

The guides

• Romance and relationship scams
  How relationship fraud is set up, stage by stage, and what separates it from an ordinary new relationship.
• Job and recruitment scams
  Recruitment fees, overseas placements, and the free licence check that settles most cases.
• Buying and selling online
  Underpriced listings and advance payments, and why paying outside the platform is the decision that matters.
• Sponsorship and visa offers
  Why no agent can guarantee a visa, and the documents a genuine sponsorship will always have.
• Checking someone before you pay
  A ten-minute sequence of free checks, and an honest account of what each one can and cannot tell you.

Why these exist

We keep a register of scam reports sent in by the public, and people search it when they are already worried. These pages are for the step before that — the point at which something feels slightly wrong and it is not yet clear whether it is anything at all.

Most of what is here costs nothing and takes minutes. Almost all of it is far more useful before money moves than after.