What is Surfshark Email scam checker and how to use it? – Surfshark Customer Support

In this article, you will learn about the Surfshark Email scam checker feature and how to use it.

Note: this feature is currently available only on the Surfshark browser extension for Google Chrome and requires a Surfshark One or One+ subscription, which can be purchased on the Surfshark pricing page.

What is Surfshark Email scam checker?

The Surfshark Email scam checker is a feature that helps you identify and avoid suspicious email messages before they can cause harm. It analyzes the content of the emails you receive and the sender’s information to evaluate if they contain specific patterns commonly used by scammers. If it determines how likely an email is to be a phishing or scam attempt, it will notify you and allow you to take appropriate action.

How does it work?

If you have the Surfshark browser extension installed, the option to check for scams will appear when you open an email in Gmail. Surfshark’s scam checker uses artificial intelligence (AI) powered by an open-source LLM (Large Language Model) to detect phishing patterns in emails. It identifies suspicious URLs, manipulation tactics, and other common scam indicators.
Since scammers mimic real businesses, some legitimate emails may be flagged. Keep in mind that we don’t collect or use your emails to train AI, and your data is only kept as long as needed for the scan before being deleted.

How to use Surfshark Email scam checker?

The Email scam checker feature activates automatically once the Surfshark browser extension on Chrome is installed. You can disable it in your browser extension settings.

Note: The Email scam checker currently works exclusively with Gmail when accessed at mail.google.com.

Here’s a simple guide on how to use it:

Open your browser and navigate to mail.google.com.
Click on a specific email in your inbox.
With the Surfshark browser extension active, the Email scam checker widget will automatically appear in the Gmail interface. Click Check email to analyze it for threats:
You will then see a status update, letting you know if the email appears safe or contains potential risks.

What do the Scam Checker results mean?

After analyzing an email, the scam checker will display one of three color-coded statuses, which can be expanded to provide more detail about any detected threat.

This is a phishing email

This is the most critical alert. A high-risk status means the email contains multiple strong indicators of a scam or phishing attempt. Surfshark Email scam checker has likely detected:

Known malicious links.
Suspicious sender information that points to impersonation.
Classic manipulation tactics designed to trick you.

We strongly recommend that you do not interact with this email. Do not click any links, download attachments, or reply. For your safety, delete it immediately and report to spam.

Potential signs of phishing detected

This indicates that the email contains some suspicious elements, but they are not conclusively malicious. This could mean:

Unusual URLs or link shorteners that hide the final destination.
The sender's details have minor inconsistencies.
The language used resembles social engineering tactics.

Proceed with extreme caution. Avoid clicking links unless you are 100% certain who the sender is and where the link leads. When in doubt, it is always safest to delete the email or verify the sender's request through a separate, trusted communication channel (like calling them directly).

No threats detected (mild risk)

This notification means that our scan did not find any clear signs of a scam.

While the email appears legitimate, it's always a good practice to remain vigilant. No tool can be 100% perfect, so continue to be mindful of unexpected requests or links before you click.

How to enable or disable the Surfshark email scam checker feature

Here's how to enable or disable the Surfshark email scam checker:

Open the Surfshark browser extension by clicking the Surfshark icon in your toolbar.
Navigate to Settings by clicking the cogwheel icon at the bottom-left corner:
Click Email Scam Checker in the list of features:

Note: If you don't see this feature, you do not have a Surfshark One or One+ subscription.
Click the toggle switch to enable or disable the feature: