Each lesson is about two minutes: the same scam shown for a teen, a parent, and a grandparent — three tells, the one move, then a quick “real or scam?” drill. Press play — sound on.
Short, free and quick to start. Test your eye on real messages, make the decisions when something has already gone wrong, or see what a career keeping people safe looks like.
Real scam messages, one at a time. Scam or safe? Play with everyone, or pick Middle school.
▶ Play →Five real messages, the same five for everyone this week. Some are scams.
▶ Play →Something has already gone wrong. Make five decisions as it unfolds. What do you do next?
▶ Play →A package text, a QR sticker, a sponsored ad. Decide what to do before you find out what was real.
▶ Play →Eight jobs that keep people safe online, and one small thing to try this week.
Explore →Every common scam, one short lesson each — built to watch and share across your whole family. Jump to the one you need; each ends with a scored drill so you can test your eye.
A cloned voice — a “grandkid,” a “battle buddy,” a “boss” — calls in a panic and needs money right now.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A text says your account is locked. The link is almost right — and the login page just steals your password.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A warm new friend or match who moves fast — then needs money, or has a “can’t-miss” crypto tip.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A prize, a refund, a giveaway you never entered — that only needs a small “fee” or your card to release.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A scary “virus” popup or a call from “support” that wants remote access to your device.
▶ Watch & take the drill →How to notice when someone you love — or you — is carrying too much, and the calm way to reach out. Awareness, not diagnosis.
▶ Watch the check-in →The signs a crewmate might show after too many bad calls — and the confidential lines answered by people who’ve worn the boots. Awareness, not diagnosis.
▶ Watch the check-in →The DM that turns friendly into a threat — the tells, the one calm move, and the free help that stops it. For teens and the families who’ve got their back.
▶ Watch & take the drill →The calls that want your Medicare number — free braces, free tests, “your card is expiring.” Learn the three tells and hang up.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A QR code on a parking meter, a flyer, or an email — that sends you to a look-alike page to log in or pay.
▶ Watch & take the drill →AI-generated images, video, or threats used to pressure or extort — and how to shut it down safely.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A too-easy job that pays before you work — then asks you to buy gear or “process” a check.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A buyer or seller who insists on Zelle, sends an “overpayment,” or wants a code to “verify” you.
▶ Watch & take the drill →The “IRS,” “Social Security,” “police,” or “Medicare” calling with threats and demands for payment.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Fake benevolent funds borrow your department's name. Learn the tells, give through the group's own door, and know what to do if you already paid or typed a password.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Why one old, reused password can open your email, and the simple fixes: a different password for each account, passkeys, and skipping sign-in links.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Your phone keeps asking you to approve a sign-in you never started. Learn why it happens, what to do, and what to do if you already tapped yes.
▶ Watch & take the drill →How strangers can piece together where you live, and what to do the moment one tries, whether you serve, study, or are retired.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A message says you won a scholarship you never entered, then asks for a fee or a login. Learn the three signs and what to do if you already paid.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A chat box feels private, but the app may keep what you type. Learn what to keep out, and what to do if you already shared something.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Real help with a V.A. claim has rules about when anyone can charge. Learn the quick check that separates accredited help from a cut-of-your-back-pay pitch.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Fake veteran funds borrow the people you want to help. Learn how to check a fund and give your own way, safely.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A cloned voice can sound just like family, so the voice proves nothing. Learn the check that works: hang up and call back on a number you already have.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Some offers that find you are legal and still cost you. Learn to price a refinance or benefit advance before you answer, and where to get a second opinion.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A first-job paycheck can be rerouted by one text, one link or one fake check. Learn how to confirm a payroll request before you act on it.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Someone makes a fake picture of you, then demands money or more images. It is not your fault, and telling someone you trust helps.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Scammers try to point your pay or benefits at their account. Two habits help: you choose where to go, and a code stays with you.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Free dinners, ready-made rollover forms and deadlines target pensions and deferred comp. Learn the check that works, and what to do if you already shared a login.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A siren, a locked screen and a phone number to call. Learn why to close it, and what to do if someone already got in.
▶ Watch & take the drill →How stolen sign-ins happen through fake help desks, surprise approval prompts and shared logins, and how to recover fast if one slips through.
▶ Watch & take the drill →How a photo, a map share and a house number can show a stranger where you are, and the small settings that put you back in charge.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A message says your Social Security number is suspended. Learn three tells and one move that works on any contact claiming to be Social Security or Medicare.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Online romance scams promise a visit that keeps getting postponed. Learn three tells and one step that helps: tell someone before money moves.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A call or text says your bank needs you to move money to a safe account. Hang up and call the number on your card. Moving your money does not protect it.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A text about a missed parcel, a toll or a fine asks for a few dollars. Skip the link, check the real site yourself, and know what to do if you already paid.
▶ Watch & take the drill →After a storm, fake charities, contractors and FEMA impersonators want money first. Aid has no application fee, and a contractor should not get full payment or cash up front.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A call says your power goes off within the hour unless you pay by gift card or crypto. Learn the check: hang up and call the number on your own bill.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A texted code is a key meant only for you. Learn why email is the master key, what a passkey is, and the one check before any reset: you start it.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A few phone settings can quiet strangers, spam and sneaky apps. Learn to screen unknown callers, check what an app asks for, and get apps only from your app store.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Your discharge papers and VA file number are worth protecting. Learn who truly needs them, how to share a copy safely, and where to get a free official one.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Scammers borrow a veteran's photo and name for fake romance and fund scams. Learn to report a copied profile, limit what is public, and spot the borrowed uniform.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A fake sign-in page can copy a benefits site exactly. The check that works is how you got there: type the address, or use a bookmark you saved from the real site.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Jobs for people leaving the service can ask for a fee, discharge papers or your number up front. Learn the independent check that tells real employers from fakes.
▶ Watch & take the drill →A message from the chief asks for gift cards or a quick payment before the meeting. Learn the check that works: confirm in person or on a number you already have.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Scammers call a responder's family saying they were hurt or arrested and need money. Agree a code word, hang up, and call them or their agency on a number you know.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Small posts, tags and fitness maps can add up to your address. Learn a short routine that shrinks what strangers can find before anyone uses it.
▶ Watch & take the drill →The first three lessons — a little longer, made for grades 9–12.
Phishing DMs and texts. The fake countdown, the look-alike link, the login page that steals your password.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Impersonation. The “celebrity” giveaway, the fake brand prize, and the new crush who needs a gift card.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Game scams. Free-currency generators, fake trades, and the “moderator” who asks for your 2FA code.
▶ Watch & take the drill →Learn these three and you’ll spot the trick no matter what costume it’s wearing.
A countdown, a threat, “act now.” Real companies never put a timer on your panic.
A link, a handle, or a name that’s off by a character or two. Look slowly and it shows.
Your password on their page, a “fee” to get a prize, or your one-time code. That’s the trap.
No fine print, no dark patterns. Here’s exactly how Guardian Academy works.
Browsing the library is open to everyone. To watch a lesson and save your progress, you create a free Guardian account — your name and email, plus an authenticator app for secure sign-in. That’s all we ask for.
We show no ads, we never sell or rent your information, and we never profile children. You can ask us to delete your account any time.
Read our privacy commitment →These lessons are created with AI and reviewed by real people before they ship. That’s how a small security team can give away current, high-quality lessons for free — and refresh them as fast as the scams change.
Every lesson carries a “Made with AI · reviewed by people” label. We believe AI should be used to protect people, not trick them — the same technology the scammers abuse, turned to defend you.
How we use AI →Start with “The Voice on the Phone,” then see how many scams you can spot in the drill.