The checker reads one suspicious email. Batmail reads your whole inbox overnight.
Paste the American Express email into the checker and it reads it for the signs below.
The checker reads the sender address, the wording, any link address you paste with the email and what the email asks you to do. It gives a verdict, a risk score from 0 to 100, the exact wording behind each red flag and what to do next. It is free and needs no signup.
Batmail phishing email checker
A fake American Express email offers to pay off your balance if you share your Card details.
American Express’s page on phishing describes this scam: an email with false promises, like paying off your account balance for you, if you share personal details such as your Card number and security code. The email below is invented, and each number is one of the signs.
Example
Hello Cardmember,
Your account qualifies for a one-time balance payoff. We will pay your full balance for you.
To claim it, reply with your Card number and security code, or enter them at the link below.
A specialist will call you today. Be ready to read out the code we text you.
The button says americanexpress.com/payoff
The sender's address is not at americanexpress.com.
The display name says American Express, but the part after the @ belongs to someone else. The American Express pages we read do not list the addresses it sends from, so do not rely on the name.
An offer to pay off your balance for you.
American Express lists an email with false promises, like paying off your account balance for you, as a scam, and says to delete the email.
A request for your Card number and security code.
American Express says the scam asks you to share personal details such as your Card number and security code. It says it will never call you and ask for your Card details or PIN.
A promised call that asks for a code.
American Express says it will never call you and ask for verification codes, and describes a caller who claims to be from American Express and asks for a one-time password or verification code.
A button that says americanexpress.com and goes somewhere else.
The label on a button is not the address it opens. American Express says to report a phishing email or text, or a fake AMEX site, right away at spoof@americanexpress.com.
From American Express: Phishing Scam Awareness, read 8 November 2026.
From American Express: Security Center, read 8 November 2026.
Read the sender's address from the right, because the last two parts say who owns it.
Anyone can put “American Express” in front of an address. The part to read is the domain, after the @ in a sender or after the https:// in a link. Read it from the right: the last two parts name the owner, and everything in front of them is only a label the owner chose. American Express’s security pages are at www.americanexpress.com, and the owner of that address is americanexpress.com. The pages we read do not list the addresses American Express sends email from, so the check that matters most is what the email asks you to do.
Read the domain from the right
www.americanexpress.com
From American ExpressOwned by americanexpress.com. This is the address of American Express's own security pages.
americanexpress.com.payoff-claim.example
Not from American ExpressOwned by payoff-claim.example. americanexpress.com is only a label in front of it.
amex-balance-relief.example
Not from American ExpressOwned by amex-balance-relief.example. The name has Amex in it, but the owner is someone else.
From American Express: Security Center, read 8 November 2026.
American Express says it will never call you and ask for codes, logins or your Card details.
American Express’s page on phishing lists what it will never call and ask for, and describes the scams that ask for those things anyway. Its list is about calls, but each item names something a fake email also asks for.
| Question | What American Express says | What a fake does |
|---|---|---|
| Will American Express ask for my Card details? | What American Express saysIt says it will never call you and ask for your Card details or PIN. It lists an email that offers to pay off your balance if you share your Card number and security code as a scam. | What a fake doesAsks for your Card number and security code to pay off your balance. |
| Will American Express ask for a verification code? | What American Express saysIt says it will never call you and ask for verification codes. | What a fake doesTexts you a code, then asks you to read it out. |
| Will American Express ask for my login? | What American Express saysIt says it will never call you and ask for logins and passwords. | What a fake doesSends you to a page that asks you to sign in. |
| Will American Express ask for a payment? | What American Express saysIt says the IRS, Social Security or your bank will not call and ask for money, and that institutions will not call you to ask for money through gift cards, wire transfer, crypto or payment apps. | What a fake doesPresses you for a payment to secure an account or remove a security alert. |
| Does the caller ID prove it is American Express? | What American Express saysIt says phone spoofing is when a scammer fakes the caller ID to display a trusted number. | What a fake doesA call from a number that looks like American Express's. |
From American Express: Phishing Scam Awareness, read 8 November 2026.
To check an American Express message, pause, think, then call the number on the back of your Card.
American Express’s advice is titled Pause, Think, Verify. It says that if you are in any doubt about a text, email or phone call, you should call the number on the back of your Card to speak to American Express.
How to check a message that says it is from American Express
- Pause
Do not answer the demand.
American Express titles its advice Pause, Think, Verify.
- Think
Who is asking for codes, money or Card details?
American Express lists what it will never call you and ask for.
- Verify
Call the number on the back of your Card.
American Express says to call it if you are in any doubt about a text, email or phone call.
From American Express: Phishing Scam Awareness, read 8 November 2026.
Five steps tell you whether a American Express email is real without clicking anything.
- Do not reply, and do not type your Card number or security code anywhere. American Express says to delete an email that offers to pay off your balance, and to call the number on the back of your Card if you are having any issues.
- Read the sender’s actual address from the right, as in the picture above. The American Express pages we read do not list its sending addresses, so treat a lookalike as a reason to stop.
- Call American Express on the number on the back of your Card. American Express says to do this if you are in any doubt about a text, email or phone call.
- Paste the email into the checker at the top of this page for a second read.
- Report it. American Express says to report a phishing email or text, or a fake AMEX site, right away at spoof@americanexpress.com. In Gmail you can also choose More next to Reply, then Report phishing.
Steps from American Express: Phishing Scam Awareness, read 8 November 2026.
Steps from American Express: Security Center, read 8 November 2026.
Steps from Gmail Help: Avoid & report phishing emails, read 8 November 2026.
If you shared your Card details, American Express says to call the number on the back of your Card.
American Express says that if you have recently been approached and believe your personal information may have been compromised, you should call the number on the back of your Card. It says you can report scams and unsolicited communications to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and confirmed cases of identity theft at identitytheft.gov. The FTC says that if something may have downloaded, you should update your computer’s security software and run a scan.
What to do depends on what you did
You only read it.
Report it at spoof@americanexpress.com, then delete it.
You clicked, or typed in details.
Call the number on the back of your Card. If something may have downloaded, update your computer's security software and run a scan.
You shared your Card number, a code or personal details.
Call the number on the back of your Card, then follow the steps at IdentityTheft.gov for what you shared.
From American Express: Phishing Scam Awareness, read 8 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: What To Do if You Were Scammed, read 8 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams, read 8 November 2026.
The same checks work on other card and bank emails.
An offer or an alert can borrow the name of any card issuer. The guide to fake Capital One emails covers a payment update that opens with Sir or Madam, the guide to fake Chase emails covers a fraud alert that tells you to move your money, and the guide to fake Citi emails covers an urgent and threatening tone. The holiday scam emails guide puts the kinds side by side.
These are the questions people ask next.
How can I tell a real American Express email from a fake one?
American Express lists an email with false promises, like paying off your account balance for you if you share personal details such as your Card number and security code, as a scam. It says to delete the email and call the number on the back of your American Express Card if you are having any issues. The pages we read do not list the addresses it sends from.
What does American Express say it will never do?
American Express says it will never call you and ask for full ID details, verification codes, logins and passwords, or your Card details or PIN. It also says the IRS, Social Security or your bank will not call and ask for money.
Where do I report a fake American Express email?
American Express says to report a phishing email or text, or a fake AMEX site, right away at spoof@americanexpress.com. It also says you can report scams and unsolicited communications to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. In Gmail you can choose More next to Reply, then Report phishing.
What if the caller ID shows American Express?
American Express says phone spoofing is when a scammer fakes the caller ID on your phone to display a trusted number. If you did not make the call, it says never to share your account numbers, log-in credentials, Social Security number or any one-time passcodes, and that if you are not sure, you should hang up and call the number on the back of your Card.
Does American Express ever send me a verification code?
American Express says it uses your contact details to send verification codes over email or SMS to verify it is you logging in to your account. It also says it will never call you and ask for a verification code, so never read a code out to a caller.
What should I do if I shared my Card details?
American Express says that if you believe your personal information may have been compromised, you should call the number on the back of your Card. It says you can report scams to the FTC and confirmed identity theft at identitytheft.gov.
Every step on this page comes from these official pages.
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