Gmail security Chrome extension

Email Phishing Scanner for Gmail

Phishing emails are more convincing than ever — written by AI, personalised to your name and employer, and designed to bypass every filter you have. TrustScan is a free email phishing scanner that works directly inside Gmail, giving every message an instant trust score before you click a single link.

🔒 Privacy-focused · No email content stored · Works in Gmail

Featured by Google 5-star rated on Chrome Web Store Privacy-first & GDPR compliant Instant analysis · No copy-paste needed

What Is Email Phishing — and Why Is It Getting Harder to Spot?

Email phishing is the practice of sending deceptive emails that impersonate a trusted sender — a bank, a colleague, a courier, a government agency — to trick you into clicking a malicious link, handing over credentials, or transferring money. It has been the leading cause of data breaches and financial fraud for over a decade.

What's changed is the quality. Until recently, phishing emails were easy to spot: poor grammar, generic greetings, obvious fake domains. Today, attackers use AI writing tools to craft flawless, personalised phishing emails that address you by name, reference your employer, and mimic the exact tone of your bank or HR department. An email phishing scanner that relies on keyword lists or known-bad domains is no longer sufficient.

Types of Phishing Emails TrustScan Detects

Spear phishing

Targeted attacks using your name, job title, or employer to appear legitimate. TrustScan analyses personalisation signals and cross-checks them against threat patterns to flag suspicious targeting.

Credential theft

Fake login pages, account-suspension threats, and "verify your details" requests designed to steal passwords. TrustScan flags urgency manipulation and sender inconsistencies that give these away.

Business email compromise

Executive impersonation, vendor fraud, and payment-redirect scams. TrustScan identifies authority impersonation and financial-pressure tactics in real time.

Fake invoice scams

Fraudulent payment requests that impersonate real vendors or suppliers. TrustScan detects the structural and language patterns common to invoice fraud before you action a payment.

AI-written phishing

Phishing emails drafted by ChatGPT or Gemini — flawless grammar, no obvious red flags. TrustScan's AI email scanner identifies machine-written content.

Deepfake attachments

AI-generated profile photos, forged ID documents, and fake proof-of-payment images. TrustScan scans every image in the email for AI-generation artifacts.

How to Spot a Phishing Email: 8 Red Flags

Even without an email phishing scanner, knowing the warning signs reduces your risk. These are the eight most reliable indicators that an email is a phishing attempt.

1
Urgency or threats. "Your account will be suspended in 24 hours." "Immediate action required." Phishing emails create artificial urgency to make you act before you think.
2
Mismatched sender address. The display name says "PayPal Security" but the actual sending email is from a random Gmail or unrelated domain. Always check the full email address, not just the display name.
3
Requests for credentials or payment. Legitimate banks, employers, and services never ask you to confirm your password, PIN, or payment details by email. Any such request is a strong phishing signal.
4
Links that don't match their label. Hover over any link before clicking. If the link text says "mybank.com" but the URL shown is something else entirely, it is almost certainly phishing.
5
Generic greetings. "Dear Customer" or "Dear User" instead of your actual name suggests the email was sent in bulk to thousands of recipients — a classic phishing pattern.
6
Unexpected attachments. An invoice, receipt, or document from someone you don't recognise — or that you weren't expecting — is a common phishing delivery mechanism. Don't open attachments you aren't certain are legitimate.
7
Flawless but impersonal writing. Modern AI-written phishing emails have perfect grammar and no typos — but they often feel slightly off in tone or include details that don't quite fit your situation. This is where a phishing scanner that checks AI authorship is essential.
8
Unusual sender behaviour. An email from a known contact asking for something out of character — a gift card request, a wire transfer, a password reset — often means their account has been compromised and is being used to phish you.

Even experts miss these signals under time pressure. TrustScan checks all of them automatically every time you open a Gmail message.

How TrustScan's Email Phishing Scanner Works

No copy-pasting required. The phishing scanner lives where you already work — inside your Gmail inbox.

1

Install the Chrome Extension

Add TrustScan to Chrome, Edge, or Brave in one click. The email phishing scanner activates automatically when you open Gmail — no setup, no configuration.

2

Open Any Email in Gmail

TrustScan automatically analyses the message for phishing signals — urgent language, sender inconsistencies, social engineering tactics, and AI authorship patterns.

3

See the Trust Score Instantly

A trust score badge appears next to the subject line. Red means high phishing risk — do not click any links. Amber means caution. Green means the email looks safe.

How TrustScan Compares to Other Email Phishing Scanners

Capability Gmail filter Traditional anti-phishing TrustScan
Catches mass-blast spam
Detects AI-written phishing
Detects targeted spear phishing Partial Partial
Scans images for deepfakes
Works inside Gmail inbox
Plain-language verdict
Free tier available Rarely

Understanding Your Phishing Risk Score

Every email gets a score from 0–100 based on phishing threat signals and AI-authorship analysis, powered by GPT.

80–100
Green — Safe

No significant phishing or scam signals detected. Safe to read and act on.

50–79
Amber — Caution

Some phishing signals present. Be careful with any links, attachments, or requests.

0–49
Red — High Risk

High phishing or fraud likelihood. Do not click links or share any information.

Email content is discarded immediately after scoring — never stored permanently.

Email Phishing Scanner — Frequently Asked Questions

Is TrustScan's email phishing scanner free?

Yes. TrustScan is free to install and includes 50 free phishing scans per month — no credit card required. Paid plans start at $5/month for users who need more than 50 scans per month. See the pricing page for full details.

How does TrustScan detect phishing emails?

TrustScan analyses every Gmail message using GPT, which understands natural language rather than matching keywords. It checks for urgency manipulation, authority impersonation, mismatched sender cues, fake invoice patterns, social engineering language, suspicious embedded links, and AI-written content. Because it reads the meaning of the email, it catches novel phishing attacks — including personalised spear phishing that has never been seen before and has no known signature.

Does the phishing scanner work automatically?

Yes. TrustScan scans emails automatically — you do not need to click anything or copy and paste text. When you open an email in Gmail, TrustScan immediately analyses the message and displays a trust score badge next to the subject line within a few seconds. Green means safe, amber means caution, red means high phishing risk — do not click links or share any information.

Can it detect phishing emails written by AI?

Yes. TrustScan detects phishing emails written by AI tools including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. AI-written phishing emails are increasingly common because they are fast to produce, personalised, and grammatically flawless — making them far harder to spot manually. TrustScan identifies AI authorship signals alongside phishing threat signals in the same scan. Learn more on the AI email scanner page.

Does TrustScan store my email content?

No. TrustScan never permanently stores your email content. Email text is sent to TrustScan's backend for analysis, a trust score is generated, and the content is immediately discarded. TrustScan does not log, sell, or share email content with third parties. Read the full privacy policy for details.

Does it work with Google Workspace accounts?

Yes. TrustScan works with both personal Gmail accounts and Google Workspace business accounts — any Gmail inbox accessed through mail.google.com in Chrome, Edge, or Brave browser. It does not currently support the Gmail mobile app or desktop email clients like Outlook or Apple Mail.

Do I need a separate general email scanner as well?

No. TrustScan is both a phishing scanner and a general email scanner in one. Every scan checks for phishing, scam content, AI-written messages, and deepfake images simultaneously. You get full email security coverage from a single Chrome extension, without needing multiple tools.

Related Email Security Resources

Add the Free Email Phishing Scanner to Gmail

Stop phishing attacks before you click. TrustScan scans every Gmail message automatically and gives you a clear verdict in seconds.

Install TrustScan for Chrome

Requires Google Chrome, Edge, or Brave. No account needed · Uninstall anytime.