Terms of Use

ScamSplain is an independent service operated as a sole proprietorship under the trading name “ScamSplain.” Paid subscriptions and payments are processed by Paddle.com, our authorized reseller and merchant of record. Paddle handles billing, receipts, refunds, and any applicable sales tax or VAT. You can reach us anytime through our Contact page.

ScamSplain is an educational service that explains warning signs commonly associated with scams and offers general guidance. It has a free tier (a limited number of checks) and paid subscriptions(Pro, Family, and the Founders Editions) with unlimited checks and extra features like saved reports. The service is provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind.

• Paid plans renew automatically — monthly or yearly, depending on the plan you chose — until you cancel.
• You can cancel any time from your account (Manage subscription). Cancelling stops future renewals; you keep access until the end of the period you’ve paid for.
• Refunds and cancellations are described on our Refund & Cancellation page. Billing itself (receipts, taxes, card handling) is managed by Paddle as merchant of record.
• If prices change, we’ll notify you before your next renewal.

A Family plan covers five people in total, including the person who pays. Each person signs in with their own account.

• Everyone’s checks stay private to them. The person paying cannot see what anyone else has checked, and neither can any other member. Saved reports are visible only to the person who ran the check.
• Only the payer manages the plan.They invite people, remove people, and handle billing. Members hold a seat — they don’t hold their own subscription.
• Invite links last 7 daysand can be cancelled before they’re used. A used link can’t be used again.
• If someone is removed, or leaves, they go back to the free tier straight away. Their saved checks stay in their own account— leaving a Family plan doesn’t delete anything they saved.
• If a payment fails, the plan keeps working for 30 daysso there’s time to fix the card. After that, everyone on the plan drops to the free tier until it’s sorted.
• If the plan is cancelled, everyone keeps access until the end of the period already paid for.
• If the person paying deletes their account, everyone else keeps access for 30 days, so each person has time to set up their own plan without losing their account or their saved checks. Nobody’s saved checks are deleted because someone else left.
• We keep a basic record of who was on a plan and when they joined or left, so billing and seat counts stay correct.

You keep ownership of anything you submit. By submitting content (messages, screenshots, reports, chat), you give us permission to process it to run the service — including analysis by our AI provider — and to keep the limited pieces described in our Privacy Policy (like scam fingerprints and, for members, your saved reports). Only submit content you have the right to share.

You must be at least 13 to use ScamSplain, and at least 18 (or have a parent or guardian’s permission) to purchase a subscription.

ScamSplain cannot detect every scam and can occasionally flag safe messages. A low-risk result is never a promise that something is safe, and a high-risk result is not proof of a crime. Always use your own judgement and verify important matters directly with the company or agency involved.

ScamSplain does not provide legal, financial, or investment advice. For decisions involving money, accounts, or legal matters, consult a qualified professional or the official organization involved.

• Use ScamSplain for personal, lawful purposes.
• Do not attempt to disrupt, overload, attack, or reverse-engineer the service.
• Do not submit other people’s personal information without a good reason, and do not use the service to harass anyone.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, ScamSplain and its operators are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance on, the service. You are responsible for the actions you take.

ScamSplain may reference third-party resources. We are not responsible for the content or practices of other websites.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. (This section is pending professional legal review.)

We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of ScamSplain means you accept the current version.

Questions about these terms? Use our Contact page.