Free Gmail security extension

Email Scanner for Gmail

TrustScan is a free email scanner that lives inside Gmail and automatically scans every message you open for phishing, scams, and fraud — giving you an instant trust score without copy-pasting a single word.

🔒 No email content stored · Instant results · 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 an Email Scanner?

An email scanner is a security tool that analyses the content, sender details, and structure of an email to determine whether it is safe, suspicious, or dangerous. It goes beyond spam filtering by actively reading and understanding the message — flagging phishing attempts, scam language, fraudulent links, and social engineering tactics.

Traditional email clients like Gmail include a basic spam filter that catches known mass-blast campaigns. An email scanner adds a second, deeper layer of protection — designed to catch the targeted, personalised threats that bypass standard filters entirely.

TrustScan is an email scanner built specifically for Gmail. Instead of requiring you to copy and paste emails into a separate website, TrustScan runs the scan automatically every time you open a message and shows you the result — a green, amber, or red trust score badge — directly inside your inbox.

Email Scanner vs. Gmail Spam Filter

Gmail's spam filter and a dedicated email scanner serve different purposes. Here's exactly what each catches — and what it misses.

Threat type Gmail spam filter TrustScan email scanner
Mass-blast spam ✓ Catches ✓ Catches
Known phishing domains ✓ Catches ✓ Catches
Targeted / personalised phishing ✗ Misses ✓ Catches
AI-written scam emails ✗ Misses ✓ Catches
Business email compromise (BEC) ✗ Misses ✓ Catches
Social engineering / urgency tactics ✗ Misses ✓ Catches
Deepfake images in email body ✗ Misses ✓ Catches
Trust score (0–100) per email ✗ Not available ✓ Every message

How to Scan an Email with TrustScan

TrustScan is the only email scanner that works automatically inside Gmail. No separate website. No copy-paste. No waiting.

1

Install the free Chrome extension

Add TrustScan to Chrome, Edge, or Brave from the Chrome Web Store in one click. No account required, no configuration. The email scanner is immediately active in Gmail after installation.

2

Open any email in Gmail

TrustScan starts scanning the email automatically the moment you open it. It extracts the message body, sender information, embedded links, and any images — then sends them for analysis. You don't lift a finger.

3

Read the trust score instantly

Within seconds, a colour-coded badge appears next to the subject line. Green means the email is safe. Amber means proceed with caution. Red means high risk of phishing or scam — do not click links or share information.

4

See exactly why (hover for details)

Hover over the badge to read a plain-English explanation of what the scanner found. If an email is flagged red, TrustScan tells you whether it detected phishing language, impersonation tactics, suspicious links, or AI-generated content.

What TrustScan's Email Scanner Checks

Every email scan runs four parallel checks simultaneously and combines them into a single trust score.

Phishing scan

The scanner checks for credential-theft attempts, fake login-page links, account-suspension threats, domain impersonation, and other phishing indicators. It reads the language of the email — not just the links — so it catches phishing emails with legitimate-looking URLs too.

Scam and fraud scan

Romance fraud, advance-fee scams, fake lotteries, fraudulent invoices, investment scams, and impersonation of banks, government agencies, or couriers. The scanner identifies the manipulation patterns common to each scam type.

AI-written email scan

Emails written by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools are flagged by their writing uniformity, grammatical patterns, and structural signals. This matters because AI-generated emails are increasingly used to craft personalised scams at scale.

Image scan

Images embedded in emails are scanned for AI-generation artifacts, including deepfake profile photos, forged payment confirmations, and fake ID documents. QR codes are decoded and the embedded URLs are analysed for phishing destinations.

Understanding Your Email Scan Result

Every email scan returns a trust score from 0 to 100. Here's what each range means and what action to take.

80–100
Green — Safe

No significant phishing, scam, or threat signals detected. The email appears safe to read, reply to, and act on.

50–79
Amber — Caution

Some risk signals present. Read carefully before clicking any links, downloading attachments, or sharing personal information.

0–49
Red — High Risk

High likelihood of phishing, scam, or fraud. Do not click links, provide information, or engage with the sender.

Scores are generated fresh for every email. Content is processed and discarded immediately — never stored permanently.

Who Needs an Email Scanner?

Phishing and email scams are no longer targeting only large corporations. These are the users who benefit most from running an email scanner.

👤

Personal Gmail users

Scammers target personal email accounts with fake parcel delivery notifications, bank alerts, and prize-winning emails. An email scanner adds a layer of protection that Gmail's filter alone can't provide.

💼

Freelancers and small businesses

Fake invoices, impersonated clients, and payment-redirect scams cost freelancers and small businesses millions each year. An email scanner flags these before you act on them.

🏢

Remote workers

Remote workers are prime targets for business email compromise — fake messages from "the CEO" requesting urgent wire transfers or credential resets. An email scanner catches the manipulation before it becomes a security incident.

Email Scanner — Frequently Asked Questions

What is an email scanner?

An email scanner is a security tool that analyses the content, sender, and structure of an email to determine whether it is safe, suspicious, or dangerous. It checks for phishing attempts, scam patterns, malicious links, and social engineering tactics — threats that standard spam filters are not designed to catch. TrustScan is an email scanner built specifically for Gmail that runs automatically every time you open a message.

How do I scan an email for phishing?

With TrustScan, scanning an email for phishing is fully automatic. Install the Chrome extension, open Gmail, and open any email. TrustScan immediately scans the message and displays a trust score badge next to the subject line — no copy-pasting, no separate tab, no manual action required. If the email scores red, it contains phishing signals and you should not click any links.

Is there a free email scanner?

Yes. TrustScan is a free email scanner for Gmail. The free tier includes 50 scans per month — enough for most personal users. If you scan a high volume of email, paid plans start at $5/month and unlock more monthly scans. See the pricing page for full details.

How does the email scanner work technically?

When you open an email, TrustScan's Chrome extension extracts the message body (up to 2,000 characters), sender address, embedded links, and any images. This data is sent to TrustScan's backend, which uses GPT to score the email across four dimensions: phishing risk, scam risk, AI-authorship likelihood, and overall threat level. The result is a composite trust score from 0–100, returned in under 3 seconds. Email content is discarded immediately after scoring and never stored.

Can I scan emails for viruses?

TrustScan scans emails for phishing, scams, fraud, and AI-written content. Virus and malware scanning of email attachments is handled by Gmail's own built-in attachment scanner, which runs automatically on all files before they can be downloaded. TrustScan focuses on the threat vectors Gmail misses: targeted phishing language, scam tactics, and deceptive content designed to trick you into acting.

Does the email scanner read or store my emails?

TrustScan processes email content only in order to generate a trust score. Email text is never stored permanently — it is processed and discarded immediately after scoring. TrustScan does not sell, share, or log email content. Read the full privacy policy for complete details.

What email clients does the scanner support?

TrustScan currently supports Gmail accessed through a web browser. It works with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Brave browser. It does not currently support Outlook, Apple Mail, or mobile Gmail apps. The extension is available on any operating system that supports these browsers — including Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS.

How is TrustScan different from other email scanners?

Most email scanners either require you to copy and paste email text into a website, or they scan only incoming mail at the server level before delivery. TrustScan is different because it works inside your live Gmail inbox — scanning every email automatically as you read it, with no extra steps. It's also the only email scanner that simultaneously checks for phishing, scam language, AI-generated content, and deepfake images in a single pass.

Related Email Security Resources

Add the Free AI Email Scanner to Gmail

Join professionals who use TrustScan to filter out AI noise, spot phishing instantly, and focus on genuine human connection in Gmail.

Install TrustScan for Chrome

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