Scam or Not
Ten messages like the ones on your phone: wallet alerts, bank codes, parcel fees, lucky draws and "new number" WhatsApps. Decide if each one is a scam or legit, see the red flags, and challenge your family to beat your score.
Made-up brands and numbers · Nothing leaves your browser
Every message here copies a trick scammers really use in Pakistan and India, and a few are perfectly normal. Look at who sent it, what it asks you to do and how it tries to make you feel. Then decide: scam or legit?
All brands, names, numbers and links in this game are invented. Don't try to visit or call them.
You are
The ones that fooled you
5 rules that stop almost every scam
- No real bank, wallet or company asks for your OTP, PIN or password. Ever.
- Check the sender. A bank, wallet or courier writing from an ordinary mobile number is a red flag.
- Never pay a fee to receive a prize, refund, job or government aid.
- Don't use the link in a message. Open the official app or type the address yourself.
- A "new number" asking for money? Call the old number before you send anything.
How it works
Each round shows 10 messages picked at random from a bigger set: mobile wallet alerts, bank codes, parcel and courier messages, lucky draws, government aid, job offers and family members with a "new number". Some are scams, and some are perfectly normal messages. Decide which is which.
After every answer you see the red flags, or the reasons a real message is real. Most scams in Pakistan and India use the same few tricks: a sender that isn't who it claims to be, a deadline, a fee to unlock money, a link to a fake website, or a request for your OTP.
Every brand, name, number and link in this game is made up, and the numbers are partly hidden so none of them can be called. Nothing you answer is sent anywhere. Only your best score is kept, on your own device.
Questions people ask
Are these real scam messages?
They're written for this game, but each one copies a trick that's really used in Pakistan and India: fake wallet blocks, lucky draws with a processing fee, "wrong transfer" refunds, OTP requests, parcel fees, KYC updates and "new number" messages from family.
How does Challenge a Friend work?
Your share link includes your score and which 10 messages you got. Whoever opens it plays the same 10 messages and sees whether they beat you.
I got a message like one of these. What should I do?
Don't tap the link, don't reply and never share a code. Open the official app or call the number printed on your card to check. Then block and report the number in your messaging app.