McAfee’s new scam detector will help you catch scams before they catch you

McAfee

Online scams are everywhere these days. Whether it’s a fake delivery text, a sketchy email pretending to be from your bank, or even a video that doesn’t seem quite right, it’s getting harder to tell what’s real and what’s not. That’s exactly why McAfee has launched a new feature called Scam Detector and it’s here to make your digital life a lot safer.

The best part is if you're already using a McAfee plan in the US, UK, or Australia, you’re getting this new feature for free. No upgrades, no extra cost.

So what does a Scam Detector actually do? It’s powered by AI and built to spot scams hiding in your texts, emails, and even videos. Let’s say you get a weird message on WhatsApp or iMessage on Android, McAfee will scan it the moment it arrives and give you a heads-up if something’s off. On iPhones, suspicious messages get filtered into a separate folder, so you don’t even have to see them unless you want to.

It also keeps an eye on your inbox. Scam Detector works with Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo, flagging anything fishy and explaining why it’s suspicious, so you’re not left guessing. And if you’re watching videos on YouTube, Facebook, or TikTok, it can even spot deepfake audio—just six seconds of sound is enough to check if something’s been manipulated by AI.

Not sure about a message or a link? You can upload a screenshot or copy the text into the app, and it’ll tell you whether it’s safe or not, with a simple explanation.

And don’t worry about your privacy most of the scam-checking happens right on your phone, not in the cloud.
Scam Detector is now part of all core McAfee plans like McAfee+, Total Protection, and LiveSafe. If you already have the app, you don’t need to do anything. It's rolling out automatically.