Practical checks that work whether the message arrived by SMS, WhatsApp, email or a social network.
Deadlines, threats of disconnection and "final notice" wording exist to stop you checking. Any genuine institution will still be there after you have verified the message through a channel you chose yourself.
No bank, platform or brand support team needs your one-time password. If you have already shared one, contact your bank immediately and change the password on that account.
Open the business's app or type their address into the browser. Do not use the number, link or QR code that was sent to you — that is exactly what the sender controls.
Look at the part immediately before the first single slash and count the dots. Pay attention to lookalike characters such as 0 for o, 1 for l and rn for m. Extra words like "secure" or "verify" in the address are common.
Check the business's published official channels and compare them with what you were sent. A mismatch in the address, the handle or the payment destination is the single strongest warning sign.
Requests for a transfer to a personal account, a UPI ID that does not match the business name, gift cards or cryptocurrency are consistently reported in scams.
Winning a draw you have no memory of entering, or being asked for a "processing fee", a "tax payment" or card details to release a reward, is a recognised pattern.
A report helps other people recognise the pattern. You do not need an account, and you do not need to give your contact details.
These steps are worth taking immediately, in this order.
SENTINEL AI cannot contact your bank or the authorities on your behalf, and does not do so automatically.
The safety checker analyses what is actually available: check a link, check a message, check a social profile, check a website. It never guarantees that something is safe, and it tells you what it could not check.