Turn 'Is This a Scam?' DMs Into a Paid Question

Security-minded creators can turn "is this a scam?" DMs into a priced Paid Private Question: the fan types the suspicious link, email, or message as text, and the creator replies with a quick verdict and reasoning. No file upload, no live call, and no full security audit is required for a fast gut-check.

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays (pricing).

Followers already send these messages for free: a text claiming to be "the bank," a DM giveaway, a recruiter email that feels off. Phishing and spoofing was the single most reported crime type to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2025, logged 191,561 times — more than any other category IC3 tracks (2025 IC3 Annual Report). The IC3 received 1,008,597 complaints in total across 2025 and recorded $20.877 billion in reported losses. Phishing volume at that scale is why a developer or security-adjacent creator already fielding these DMs can price the answer instead of typing it for free.

What counts as a paid "is this a scam?" question?

A paid scam-check question is one typed message — a pasted link, an email body, or a written description of a suspicious DM — that a fan submits for a private, text-based verdict from a creator who charges a fixed price for it. No live call, no uploaded file, and no full security audit is involved in that exchange.

On FanBell the format maps directly to a Paid Private Question: the fan pays, types the suspicious content and any context, and the creator replies by text in a private thread (how it works).

A scam-check offer stays narrow on purpose: not inbox monitoring, not a subscription, not a guarantee. One judgment call, priced and delivered once, is fast to answer and fast to buy for a fan who wants an answer now rather than a booked call.

How much should you charge for a scam or phishing check?

Price a single scam-check question low enough that a worried fan pays without hesitating and high enough to cover the judgment involved. FanBell's own Paid Private Questions documentation states that creators often start around $5–$15 for a written reply and charge more for a detailed response.

A scam check sits at the fast end of that $5–$15 starting range because the deliverable is one verdict plus a short reason, not a written report. Phishing and spoofing produced more than $215 million in reported losses in the United States in 2025, so a single-digit price for a fast second opinion is small next to what one missed message can cost. Adjust the number after a few weeks of real orders rather than guessing it in advance (how to price async paid Q&A). Any price named on this page is illustrative, not a guarantee of demand or income.

Because "is this real?" is a common, repeating DM shape, a flat price beats negotiating each time. If a fan needs more than a one-line verdict — multiple messages, a longer paper trail, a written explanation to forward to family — point them to a broader Creator Service instead of stretching one question past its scope.

What should a fan submit when asking "is this a scam"?

A useful scam-check request contains the exact text or a description of it, who the message claims to be from, and what the fan is being asked to do — click, pay, reply, or share a code. Those three inputs let a creator answer in a single pass with no back-and-forth.

Nearly one in three fraud reports filed with the US Federal Trade Commission in 2025 were about imposter scams (FTC press release), which is why "who does the message claim to be from?" belongs on the scam-check request form rather than in a follow-up message.

Paid Private Questions are text-only from the fan, with no file or image attachment in either direction, so the fan should type or paste the relevant text rather than expect to upload a screenshot.

Automated filtering already runs at enormous scale before any message reaches a fan: Google Safe Browsing protects over five billion devices every day by warning users before they open a flagged site. Google Chrome blocks more than 3 million malware, phishing, and other scam attempts every single day (Chrome safety). A message that reaches a fan's inbox anyway is one the filters did not catch, which is why the raw text — not a summary of it — is what a creator needs.

Good example prompts to publish on the offer itself:

• "Paste the exact message, including the sender name or number."
• "What is it asking you to do — click a link, send money, share a code, or reply with info?"
• "Where did it arrive — text, email, DM, or a comment?"

When does a quick check need to become a bigger service instead?

A scam check stays a Paid Private Question while it is one message and one answer. It becomes a Creator Service once the fan needs several messages reviewed at once, a short explainer to forward to a parent, or account-recovery steps after a real compromise — work with a defined deliverable rather than a single verdict.

Creator Services support a creator-set price and a turnaround of up to about 120 hours, and the creator can deliver text, files, links, audio, or video. "Review these five texts and write up what to do" fits that shape, where a Paid Private Question would be too thin. Keep the line explicit on your page: one link or message is a paid question; anything closer to a structured review is a service with its own price and scope.

Do you need a disclaimer before answering these for money?

Yes. State plainly that a paid scam-check reply is one person's read of the evidence sent, not a guarantee, a legal opinion, or a substitute for reporting the incident. A disclaimer protects both sides: the fan understands they are buying a fast second opinion, and the creator avoids implying they can catch everything.

The Federal Trade Commission's consumer guidance frames phishing recognition as pattern-spotting rather than proof:

"Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal information." — Federal Trade Commission, How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams

The FTC's guidance describes urgency, mismatched links, and generic greetings as signals rather than certainty either way. Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found the human element present in 62% of breaches, up from 60% the previous year (Verizon 2026 DBIR Executive Summary) — trained employees misread suspicious messages too, so a paid reply should promise a careful read rather than certainty. Write a scam-check verdict as "here's what stands out and why," not "this is 100% safe" — the same hedged framing that works for pricing a quick "is this AI-generated?" verdict, where a creator is also selling a careful read rather than a certainty.

How fast should a scam-check reply turn around?

Set a short, realistic reply window — same day, or within a few hours — because a fan asking "is this a scam?" is usually deciding whether to click, pay, or reply right now. Speed matters more for a scam check than for most paid questions, since a slow verdict arrives after the decision has already been made.

Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found that in phishing simulations the median successful click rate for mobile-centric vectors such as voice and text messaging runs 40% higher than for email, so a fan staring at a suspicious text is among the fastest to act on it.

On FanBell, the creator sets the price and how fast they commit to replying when enabling a Paid Private Question, so a scam-check offer can carry a shorter turnaround than that same creator's other offers. Say so upfront on the offer when a fast window is not realistic for your schedule.

Do "is this a scam" checks actually matter at scale?

Yes. Impersonation is the largest reported fraud category in the United States and phishing messages still reach inboxes despite automated filtering, which is why a fast personal read is worth paying for. People reported losing $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, more than any other fraud category that year (FTC press release).

Total reported fraud losses in the United States reached about $16 billion in 2025, the highest figure on record (FTC press release). The Anti-Phishing Working Group's member network observed 971,181 phishing attacks in the first quarter of 2026, up 13.8% from 853,244 attacks in the fourth quarter of 2025 (APWG Phishing Activity Trends Report, Q1 2026).

"We now average almost 3,000 complaints per day." — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 IC3 Annual Report

A phishing message that slips past automated filters and lands in a fan's inbox is precisely the gap a paid, personal second opinion fills.

What else can you sell alongside scam checks?

A scam-check offer works best beside adjacent offers that absorb the requests one verdict cannot hold: a structured multi-message review, a reassurance message after a scare, tips from people who read your free security posts, and a separate inbox for brand inquiries. Each keeps a different request shape out of the quick-check question.

• Creator Service: A structured review of several messages, or a written explainer a fan can forward to family.
• Personalized Shoutout: A "you're safe now" reassurance message after a scary near-miss, separate from the technical verdict.
• Tips: A way for someone who benefited from your free security posts to support you without buying a specific check.
• Wishlist / Project Support: Funding for a bigger project, like a guide that helps your audience spot scams on their own.
• Brand Collaboration Inquiries: A separate inbox for security-tool or fintech brands wanting a partnership, kept apart from fan questions.

Developers and tech creators already fielding "is this legit?" DMs alongside code-review and career questions can bundle a scam-check option into a broader paid-DM setup rather than building a separate product for it, alongside a related one-off like pricing an "is my app easy to use?" usability check.

How do you set up a scam-check question on FanBell?

Add a Paid Private Question offer, name it clearly ("Is this a scam? — quick check"), set a price and a reply window, and write two or three lines telling the fan exactly what to paste. FanBell's setup does not require a cybersecurity credential to enable Paid Private Questions.

Representing your own background accurately is the creator's responsibility. For anything beyond a single message — a suspected account compromise, or a fan who has already lost money — direct the fan to official channels such as reportfraud.ftc.gov alongside your reply.

Create your free FanBell page and turn the next "is this a scam?" DM into a priced answer instead of a free one.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need cybersecurity credentials to sell scam checks?

FanBell's setup does not list a security certification as a prerequisite for enabling Paid Private Questions. Represent your actual experience accurately, avoid implying credentials you don't hold, and keep a clear disclaimer that your reply is a read of the evidence sent, not a guarantee.

Can a fan attach a screenshot instead of typing the message?

No — Paid Private Questions are text-only from the fan, with no file or image attachment in either direction. Ask fans to paste the exact text, sender name, and what they're being asked to do; anything requiring an uploaded file fits a Creator Service instead.

What if I say something is safe and it turns out to be a scam?

State on the offer that your reply reflects the evidence sent at the time, not a guarantee. Real losses should still be reported through official channels such as reportfraud.ftc.gov, not resolved through a paid DM alone.

Paid Private Question or Creator Service for a scam check?

Use a Paid Private Question for one pasted message needing one verdict. Use a Creator Service when a fan needs several messages reviewed, a written explainer, or a structured write-up — Creator Services support turnaround up to about 120 hours and file, audio, or video delivery.

What does FanBell charge, and is there a follower minimum?

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays. FanBell states that paid fan interaction depends on engagement rather than follower count, with no follower minimum required to start. Card-processing fees apply on top: Stripe's published US online-card rate is around 2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe pricing).