The moment it happens

Check whether a website looks like a scam

Send a web address and get a risk verdict with the reviews and reports behind it.

Runs: The moment it happens
Apps: SerpApi
AI: Yes, uses the built-in AI allowance
Access: API key

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: when I send a URL to this link, search for reviews and scam reports about that domain, and email me a risk rating from low to high with the reasons.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

Add to ChatGPT Add to Claude

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

A friend sends a link to a site selling designer shoes at 70 percent off, or a client asks you to check a company before signing. The usual advice is to look it up, but that means reading reviews, scanning Reddit, trying to judge whether five-star reviews are real and checking whether the domain was registered last month. Most people either do not bother and get burned, or spend half an hour and still feel unsure. Relatives of anyone who has lost money on a fake store know the cost.

Send a website address and it queries Google via SerpApi for the domain together with words like scam and reviews, collects the snippets that come back, and has ClickRuntime's built-in AI write a short risk verdict explaining what it saw. The result is emailed to you. It runs as soon as you submit the address. It is useful for shoppers, freelancers and anyone helping family members stay safe online.

What you get out of it

A second opinion before you pay
A verdict based on what the web says about a site arrives before you enter a card number. Skipping one scam purchase pays for a lot of caution, and the check takes minutes.
Complaints surface quickly
If forum threads and review pages describe the shop as fake, those snippets are collected and summarized. You do not need to search across several sites to find the one thread that matters.
Reasons are included, not just a score
The verdict explains what led to it, such as many complaints about undelivered orders or no independent mentions at all. You can judge the reasoning rather than trusting a number.
Useful for B2B checks too
Before sending a deposit to a new supplier or accepting a job from an unfamiliar company, a quick reputation check can reveal a pattern of nonpayment or fake offers. Before wiring a deposit to a supplier you found online, a quick reputation check can reveal repeated nonpayment reports.
Protects less technical family members
Someone who is not comfortable judging websites can forward a link and get a plain-language answer. That is far more likely to be used than a long guide on spotting scams.

How it works

What happens, step by step

When you send a web address to your automation's link, or ask your AI assistant to check one, ClickRuntime starts a check.
It searches Google for the site's name alongside words like "scam" and "reviews" and collects what the top results say.
AI reads those snippets and decides on a risk level of low, medium or high, with the reasons behind it.
You get an email with the verdict and the short list of reviews and reports it was based on.

Before it runs live

Connect SerpApi
Paste your automation's link into the other app's webhook settings

What you get

RunsThe moment it happens

Check whether a website looks like a scamjust nowSucceeded

Email · Scam check: acme-deals-outlet.shopRisk: High - Registered 3 weeks ago - Several reports of orders never arriving on review sites

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.

Your own rules
Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.
Any number of apps
One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.
AI where it helps
Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.
On a schedule or on each event
Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
Change what the AI looks for, or how it writes the result
Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
Combine it with other SerpApi steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.

is_this_website_a_scam.pyexample

from urllib.parse import urlparse
from clickruntime import on_event, credentials, http, ai, notify

@on_event
def handle(event):
    url = (event.json or {}).get("url", "")
    domain = urlparse(url if "//" in url else f"https://{url}").netloc
    key = credentials.secret("SERPAPI_KEY")
    snippets = []
    for q in (f'"{domain}" scam', f'"{domain}" reviews'):
        data = http.get("https://serpapi.com/search.json",
                        params={"engine": "google", "q": q, "api_key": key}).json()
        snippets += [f"{r['title']}: {r.get('snippet', '')}" for r in data.get("organic_results", [])[:8]]
    verdict = ai.generate(
        f"Domain: {domain}\n\n" + "\n".join(snippets),
        system="Rate the scam risk as Low, Medium or High on the first line, then give 3-5 reasons from the snippets.",
        max_output_tokens=400,
    ).text
    notify.email_me(f"Scam check: {domain}", verdict)
    return {"domain": domain}

FAQ

Common questions

How reliable is the verdict?

It reflects what search results show, which is a useful signal but not proof. A brand-new legitimate shop may have few mentions, and a scam may have planted positive reviews. Treat it as one input, along with payment protections.

What if the site is new and has no reviews?

Then the verdict will say there is little information, which is itself a caution. A lack of independent mentions for a store claiming years of business is suspicious, and the summary will point that out.

Does it check the domain's registration date or SSL certificate?

No. It reads only what Google search results say about the domain, so technical checks like registration age or certificate details need a separate WHOIS or SSL lookup. A WHOIS lookup shows when the domain was registered, which is a useful extra clue next to the verdict for stores claiming a long history.

What permissions does it need?

API key. Nothing else in your accounts is used.

Does it need AI?

Yes. It uses ClickRuntime's built-in AI, so you don't need an OpenAI or Anthropic key. Every plan includes a monthly AI allowance.

How many runs does it use?

One run for each event the app sends.

Can I change how it works?

Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

The moment it happensAI