Academics · Adult Learning

Spot the fake before you tap the link.

Twelve practice emails and texts, some real and some scams. Tap whatever looks wrong, check where each link really goes, then make the call. You see every clue you caught and missed, and which kinds of warning signs to watch for.

Start practicing What you get

The simulator

Every company, person and address in these messages is made up, and no link opens. Your answers stay in this browser.

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What you get

Academics · Adult LearningFree

What you finish with: Practice on twelve messages with feedback on every warning sign, a results page that shows which kinds of signs you miss most, a checklist for a real message you received, and a printable clue card with what to do and where to report.
Who it is for: Adult learners building digital skills, adult education and workforce programs, older adults and the family members who help them, and high school students. Written in plain language at about a grade 6 to 8 reading level.
Format: Browser practice and checklist. Works on a phone or computer, with large tap targets and keyboard shortcuts. Print the clue card with your results; move progress between devices with a file.
Access: Free. No account and no sign-in. Answers and anything you paste stay in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives: The Adult Learning space in Caveat Academics.
Support: Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

Read the message the way you would in your inbox or on your phone.
Tap anything that looks wrong. Point at or tap a link to see where it really goes; nothing opens.
Decide: phishing or legitimate. Read the clues you caught and missed.
After a few messages, open Your results to see which warning signs you miss most.
Got a message you are unsure about? Paste it into Check a message you got, then print the clue card for your fridge or classroom.

Start practicing

How the practice and the checklist work

What the simulator teaches, and the limits of a checklist.

Ten warning signs

Sender does not match
Link goes somewhere else
Pressure or a deadline
Asks for a password, code or personal details
Odd way to pay
Generic greeting
Too good to be true
Unexpected attachment
Asks you to keep it quiet
Out of the blue
Four of the twelve practice messages are real ones. Learning what a normal message looks like matters as much as spotting a fake.

The message checklist

It looks for words and patterns common in scams: deadlines and threats, requests for passwords or codes, gift cards and wire transfers, prizes, secrecy and generic greetings.
It pulls out every web address, finds the real site in it, and flags shortened links, http:// links, number-only addresses, look-alike characters and endings often used by throwaway sites. If you enter the company's real website, it flags links that go anywhere else.
It is a set of rules, not a judgment. It can miss a well-made scam and flag a real message. It never says a message is safe.

Sources

Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, "How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams" and "How To Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages": warning signs, forwarding scam texts to 7726, reporting at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (consumer.ftc.gov).
Federal Trade Commission, "Gift Card Scams" and "Avoid a Google Voice verification scam": no legitimate business asks to be paid with gift cards; never share a verification code (consumer.ftc.gov).
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), "Recognize and Report Phishing" and the Secure Our World guidance (cisa.gov).
Anti-Phishing Working Group, reporting phishing emails to reportphishing@apwg.org (apwg.org).
Federal Trade Commission, IdentityTheft.gov: steps to take after sharing personal information.

Practice and general information, not a security service. Every company, person, phone number and address in the practice messages is made up; any likeness to a real one is unintended. The checklist cannot confirm that a message is safe. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.