Safe Posting & Verification Policy

Report Scams exists to warn people about scams. To do that fairly we must protect people from false accusations and from having their personal details exposed. This policy explains the rules for what is posted, how we publish and correct it, and how our replies to “Check a Case” requests work. It supplements our Terms, Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines and Disclaimer.

1. What you may post

• What happened to you, in your own words, and only things you know to be true or genuinely believe from your own experience.
• The details a scammer used to contact you: the phone number, UPI ID, website, email or company name they gave.
• Evidence of the scam itself: screenshots of messages, receipts of payments you made, and similar.

2. What you must not post

• Statements you know are false, or accusations you cannot support. Do not call a named private person a criminal or fraudster.
• Anyone’s Aadhaar, PAN, bank account or card number, home address, or family details, including your own where it is not needed.
• The identity of a victim of a sexual offence, or any content about a minor. Publishing a victim’s identity is an offence in India.
• Harassment, hate, threats, or content meant to shame someone rather than warn others.
• Court-restricted material, or private documents you do not have the right to share.
• Reports you know to be false. Making a false report can lead to removal, loss of your account, and legal action by the person affected.

3. How reports are published

• Moderators review reports before they go live. We may remove, shorten or redact content, and we may decline to publish.
• Our system automatically hides Aadhaar-, PAN-, account-, card- and reference-shaped numbers, and other people’s phone numbers and emails, in report text shown to others.
• Identity documents, bank statements and FIR copies attached as evidence can be opened only by the person who submitted them and by our moderators.
• A report is the reporter’s account. It is not our finding that the person or business named committed any offence.

4. Crime cases by state and country

The Crime Reports pages list cases summarised from published news and official sources, each with a link. An allegation, FIR, arrest or charge is not a finding of guilt, and we word cases accordingly. We do not publish the names of victims of sexual offences, and we do not publish private individuals’ personal data.

5. “Check a Case” replies

A registered member can ask us to check a message, offer, website, number or company. A moderator compares it with official sources and public information and replies privately, using one of these standard answers:

• Matches a known scam pattern. What you described has the same features as scams that have been reported or documented. Do not pay or share personal details.
• An official source has warned about this. A police, regulator or government source has published a warning that covers this. The source is linked below.
• No scam indicators found (not a guarantee). We found no signs of a known scam in the information you gave and public sources. This is not a guarantee. Stay careful and verify independently before paying.
• Registered with an official source. The business appears in an official registry (for example MCA, GST or a regulator list). Registration shows it exists; it does not show it is trustworthy.
• Not enough information to verify. We could not find enough to say either way. Add more detail and submit again, or treat it with caution.
• We can't assess this type of request. This is outside what we can check (for example a personal dispute or the identity of a private person).

Our reply is an opinion about the item submitted, based on the information given and public sources at the time. It is not legal advice, not a finding of fact, and not a certificate that any person or business is honest or dishonest. We never say a person is “fake” or “genuine”. We do not publish requests or replies. If you have lost money, call 1930 or file at cybercrime.gov.in immediately.

5A. “Real or Fake?” polls

On Real or Fake?, anyone can vote once on whether a viral video, image or message is real, and members can post their own cases. Moderators review every member post before it appears. Votes are the public’s opinion, shown separately for members and visitors, and are not verification. Where an independent fact-checker has looked at a case, we link to their own article and describe their finding in our own words; we have not independently verified it. Posts must describe the claim, not accuse a named private person, and must not contain personal data.

• If you are named in a report or case, or you believe anything on the site is wrong, unfair or exposes your personal data, write to our Grievance Officer or use the “File a Dispute” button on the report.
• We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days. Content showing a person in a private or intimate way without consent is removed within 24 hours of a complaint.
• A person or business named in a report can send us their side. We will review it, and where appropriate we will correct, add the response, or remove the content.
• We comply with valid orders from courts and government authorities.

7. Misuse

We may hide reports, issue strikes, suspend or close accounts, and share information with the authorities when the law requires, where someone posts false or abusive content, uploads other people’s documents, or uses Check a Case to harass someone.