What is the best free AI scam detector?

AuthentiLens offers 3 free scans without signup across text, image, audio, video, social, and website modalities, and 2 more after entering an email. Deepware Scanner is free for video-only deepfake checks. Reality Defender offers 50 free API scans per month for developers.

Which tool detects deepfake videos?

AuthentiLens, Reality Defender, and Deepware Scanner all support video deepfake detection at different price points and for different audiences. AuthentiLens covers consumers; Reality Defender covers enterprise and engineering teams; Deepware Scanner is a free single-file checker.

How much does AI scam detection cost?

Consumer tools range from free (with limits) to about $10 per month. AuthentiLens Pro is $9.99 per month. Hiya Premium is $2.99 per month. Truecaller Premium starts around $1.99 per month. Enterprise tools like Reality Defender are quoted on contact.

Can I use multiple tools together?

Yes. Different tools cover different modalities. A common stack is one full-spectrum content scanner like AuthentiLens, plus a phone-call screener like Hiya or Truecaller for caller ID, plus a text-only tool like GPTZero or Originality.ai if you publish content for a living.

How do I know if a tool's accuracy claims are real?

Read the tool's published evaluation data and look for independent benchmarking. Be skeptical of any tool that claims 100 percent accuracy. No detection system achieves that. Use any single tool's verdict as decision support, not a final answer.

What should I do if a tool says a message or video is suspicious?

Treat it as decision support, not a final verdict. Verify through an independent channel. Never send money, share credentials, or act on a suspicious communication until you have confirmed the request through a second trusted source.

Best AI Scam Detectors 2026: 8 Tools Compared

AI-enabled fraud cost Americans $893 million in 2025, per the FBI. Here are the eight tools we recommend for detecting scams, deepfakes, and AI-generated content in 2026, with pricing, strengths, and the use case each one fits.

In 2025, U.S. consumers reported $893 million in losses to AI-enabled fraud, according to the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report. That figure was broken out as its own category for the first time in IC3's 25-year history, and it is a floor, not a ceiling. Every practical AI scam-defense strategy in 2026 starts with tools that can identify synthetic content, flag impersonation, and verify uncertain communications before you act.

This is our current list of the most useful tools in the category. Each entry covers what the tool does, its strengths, its limitations, pricing as of April 2026, and the use case it fits.

Selection methodology

We evaluated tools on four criteria: breadth of media supported, practicality for non-technical users, price and accessibility, and transparency about limitations. We included tools across a spectrum of price points and audiences. Paid enterprise tools appear alongside free consumer tools when both serve the category usefully. We disclose where AuthentiLens is included and have tried to describe competitors fairly. Pricing was verified against each vendor's public site as of April 2026 and may change.

1. AuthentiLens

What it does. Full-spectrum scam and AI-detection scanning across text, image, audio, video, social profiles, and websites. Flags both AI-generation signals and scam-pattern indicators.

Strengths. Broadest media coverage in the consumer space. No signup for 3 free scans. Clear confidence scoring. Explicit that results are decision support, not a replacement for judgment.

Limitations. Consumer-focused, no enterprise API in this tier. Does not block live phone calls.

Pricing. 3 free scans, no signup. Plus 2 additional scans after entering an email. Pro at $9.99 per month with unlimited scans.

Best for. Everyday users who want one tool to check any suspicious content (messages, videos, profiles, websites) without technical setup.

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2. GPTZero

What it does. AI-generated text detection, originally for education, now used by publishers and recruiters.

Strengths. Strong brand recognition in AI-text detection. Chrome extension and team plans for publishing workflows.

Limitations. Text-only. Does not cover images, audio, video, social profiles, or websites.

Pricing. Free tier covers up to 10,000 words per month and a small number of advanced scans. Paid plans (billed annually) start at roughly $14.99 per month for the Essential tier (150,000 words), $23.99 per month for Premium (300,000 words), and $45.99 per month for Professional (500,000 words). Monthly billing is higher.

Best for. Educators, editors, and publishers who need AI-text detection specifically.

3. Reality Defender

What it does. Enterprise-grade deepfake and AI-content detection across image, audio, and video modalities.

Strengths. Trusted by banks, governments, and major media organizations. API-first integration. Drag-and-drop "RealScan" web interface for non-technical reviewers.

Limitations. Enterprise pricing and setup. Not designed for individual consumer use.

Pricing. Free developer tier with 50 image or audio scans per month via API. Enterprise plans are custom-quoted on contact. No public rate card.

Best for. Security teams, compliance teams, and engineering teams building deepfake detection into their own products.

4. Hiya

What it does. Phone-call screening and caller-ID reputation scoring.

Strengths. Blocks unknown robocalls and flags spoofed caller IDs before the phone rings. Strong integration with mobile carriers. The free tier alone is useful.

Limitations. Phone-call specific. Does not scan content (text, images, video, links).

Pricing. Free tier includes spam call detection, daily updates, and unlimited spam-number lookups. Hiya Premium is $2.99 per month or $14.99 per year, with a 7-day free trial.

Best for. People flooded with robocalls and spoofed-number calls.

5. Truecaller

What it does. Caller-ID identification and reverse phone lookup using a community-contributed database.

Strengths. Massive user base provides community spam signals. Useful reverse lookup for any unknown number.

Limitations. Community database means spoofed numbers sometimes pass through. Does not analyze message content.

Pricing. Free tier with ads and basic caller ID. Premium Connect starts around $1.99 per month or $17.99 per year. Premium Gold runs roughly $2.99 to $4.99 per month depending on region.

Best for. Anyone who gets many calls from unknown numbers.

6. Copyleaks

What it does. AI text detection and plagiarism checking, oriented toward enterprise and education.

Strengths. Enterprise integrations and team workflows. Combined AI-detection plus plagiarism checking in one product.

Limitations. Text-only. Credit-based pricing model can be confusing for casual users.

Pricing. Free plan covers about 2,500 words per month. AI Content Detector tier starts around $7.99 per month for up to 1,200 credits (one credit covers 250 words). Personal plan around $10.99 per month for 25,000 words. Higher tiers and enterprise plans available.

Best for. Institutions and enterprises that need AI-text detection integrated into content workflows.

7. Originality.ai

What it does. AI-text detection and plagiarism checking, oriented toward content publishers and SEO professionals.

Strengths. Built specifically for content marketers. Site-wide scans, team management, WordPress plugin. Pay-as-you-go option for occasional users.

Limitations. Text-only. Publisher-oriented, not a general-purpose consumer tool.

Pricing. Pay-as-you-go is $30 one-time for 3,000 credits (one credit covers 100 words, two-year expiry). Pro subscription is $14.95 per month (around $12.95 per month billed annually) for 2,000 monthly credits.

Best for. Content publishers and SEO professionals who want to verify AI content in their workflows.

8. Deepware Scanner

What it does. Free video-deepfake detection focused on uploaded video files.

Strengths. Free to use. Video-specific. Useful as a fast second opinion.

Limitations. Single-modality. Limited to uploaded files (not live streams or social-media URLs).

Pricing. Free.

Best for. A quick second opinion on a specific video you suspect is a deepfake.

How to pick a tool

If you want one tool for most of your needs: AuthentiLens covers text, image, audio, video, social, and website scans with scam-pattern detection.
If you are an educator or publisher: GPTZero, Copyleaks, or Originality.ai, depending on your workflow.
If you are a security or engineering team: Reality Defender.
If you mostly need call blocking: Hiya or Truecaller.
If you want a free quick check of a video file: Deepware Scanner.

Most people get the broadest practical coverage by stacking two tools: a full-spectrum content scanner (AuthentiLens) plus a phone-call screener (Hiya or Truecaller). That combination covers the two attack surfaces, content and calls, that fuel most AI-enabled scams in 2026.

Best AI Scam Detectors 2026