Quick Cheat Sheet
Print this page and keep it near your computer. It has all the key red flags in one place.
🛡️ Spot a Fake — Cheat Sheet
Keep this handy. When in doubt, check this list.
📷 Fake Photos
- 🚩 Wrong number of fingers on hands
- 🚩 Blurry or warped backgrounds
- 🚩 Too-smooth, waxy, or poreless skin
- 🚩 Garbled or nonsense text in images
- 🚩 Inconsistent shadows / lighting
- 🚩 Mismatched earrings or accessories
- 🚩 Hair that blends into background
🎬 Fake Videos
- 🚩 Lips don’t match the audio
- 🚩 Unnatural blinking patterns
- 🚩 Shimmering edges around the face
- 🚩 Skin color changes when head turns
- 🚩 Background warps during movement
- 🚩 Too-stiff or too-smooth head movement
- 💡 Tip: Watch at 0.25x speed
📧 Fake Texts & Emails
- 🚩 Creates urgency ("Act NOW!")
- 🚩 Too good to be true (free prizes)
- 🚩 Sender domain looks wrong
- 🚩 Generic greeting ("Dear Customer")
- 🚩 Asks for passwords or payment info
- 🚩 Suspicious or shortened links
- 🚩 Impersonates someone you know
- 🚩 Emotional manipulation
✅ What To Do
- 🛑 Stop — Don’t click, don’t reply
- 🛑 Verify — Go to the real website or call
- 🛑 Report — reportfraud.ftc.gov or ic3.gov
- 🛑 Forward spam texts to 7726
- 🛑 Forward phishing to reportphishing@apwg.org
- 🛑 Tell someone — Share what you know
- 🛑 Protect accounts — Unique passwords + 2FA
🛡️ spotfake.nanocorp.app — Free tools to help you stay safe online