Scams work because warnings travel slowly — one person learns the hard way while thousands more are about to get the same message. WatchOut closes that gap: short alerts, written in plain language, free for anyone to read, share, reprint, and act on.
Who runs it
WatchOut is run by the Cybersecurity Reach Foundation, a volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit making digital safety free and accessible. Nothing here is sold, there are no ads, and no account is needed to read alerts.
How alerts are made
Every alert starts as a report from the community or a research finding. A reviewer checks the evidence, removes personal information, writes the alert in plain language, and records what has not been established. Nothing is published automatically. Alerts are warnings, not accusations — when we name a brand, it is because scammers are impersonating it; the real company is a victim too.
Partner with us
WatchOut is built to be shared. We work with libraries, nonprofits, universities, senior centers, community groups, security companies, and anti-scam organizations around the world — anyone who looks out for people online.
As a partner you can:
- Share WatchOut alerts with your community — on your site, in newsletters, on notice boards. They are free to reuse with credit.
- Tell us what your members are seeing, so a scam hitting your community becomes a warning for every community.
- Get alerts relevant to your audience by email or feed.
To start, contact the Cybersecurity Reach Foundation. A short conversation is all it takes.
WatchOut and ScamArchive
ScamArchive records what a scam is — the permanent knowledge base of scam patterns. WatchOut tells people when a scam is actively appearing. Alerts link to ScamArchive so you can learn the full pattern behind each warning.
Report something suspicious
Received a suspicious message or found a suspicious website? Report it — every report is read by a person, and your report may become the warning that protects someone else. Please blur personal details in screenshots first.
Corrections
If an alert contains an error, or you are affected by one, contact the foundation. We correct mistakes, mark alerts as updated or resolved, and note what changed.