Settlement Notice Checker: Does the Claim Site Match?
Got an email, postcard or text saying you can claim money from a class action settlement? Paste the link, the website, or the sender's email address. This checker compares its domain with the official claim sites in our settlement tracker (165 on file) and flags addresses built to look like one of them. It runs in your browser, and we do not send, log, or save what you paste.
In an email, right-click (or long-press) the link and choose Copy link address. The text you see can differ from where the link actually goes.
The check runs in your browser. We do not send, log, or save what you paste. 165 official claim sites on file in our settlement tracker.
How Settlement Notice Scams Work
Courts direct settlement notices by mail, email or other means, which gives scammers a template to copy. The FTC describes the same playbook, in general terms, in its guidance on refund and recovery scams: someone offers to get money back for you, then says you must pay first, calling it a "processing fee," an "administrative charge" or a "tax," or asks for a Social Security or bank account number so they can "deposit" the refund. They may claim to be a government agency, a consumer advocacy group or a law firm.
The FTC's position is blunt: government agencies and legitimate organizations will never ask for money to help you get a refund, and anyone who asks for an upfront fee is a scammer. When the Equifax settlement notices went out, the FTC warned that nobody would call, text or email out of the blue to ask for credit card or bank account numbers, or to "help" people get the free credit monitoring the settlement provided.
The link is the other half of the trick. A copycat site can reuse the real settlement's name, logo and wording on a domain that is one letter off, uses a different ending, or tucks the real name inside a longer address. The FTC's phishing guidance gives the fix: contact the organization using a phone number or website you know is real, not the information in the message.
What a Real Notice Contains
In federal court, the judge directs the notice. For a damages-style class certified under Rule 23(b)(3) (including a class proposed for certification as part of a settlement), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(2)(B) requires the notice to state, in plain language, the nature of the case, the class definition, the claims, your right to appear through a lawyer, your right to be excluded and how, and the binding effect of the judgment. State courts have their own rules.
That is what makes a notice checkable. It identifies a case, and a case has a docket. Search the case name or number in the PACER Case Locator for federal cases, or on the state court's own website, and compare the claim-site address in the notice with the one in the court filings.
What This Checker Can and Cannot Tell You
- A match means the domain is the official claim site on file for a settlement in our tracker, with the date we last checked it. It does not prove the message you received is genuine, because sender addresses can be forged and a fake message can copy a real link.
- A lookalike warning means the address resembles a verified claim site but is not the same domain. The result shows the verified address so you can go there directly.
- Not in our tracker is not a verdict. We do not track every settlement, so a genuine claim site can be missing. The result lists the checks to run yourself.
- It never collects anything. There is no claim form here and filing never happens on this site. Any claim is filed with the court-appointed administrator, for free.
If you already entered details on a site you now doubt, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and see our settlement tracker for the steps listed on each breach settlement page.
Disclaimer: General legal information, not legal advice. A domain comparison cannot establish who sent a message. Confirm any claim site with the court or the settlement administrator before you file.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a match mean the email or letter I got is genuine?
No. A match means only that the domain is the official claim site we have on file for that settlement. Sender addresses can be forged and a fake notice can copy a real link, so the careful route is to type the official address yourself rather than click the link in the message.
The checker says "Not in our tracker." Is the site fake?
Not necessarily. We do not track every class action settlement, and new ones open every week. Treat it as unverified: find the case on the court docket, check the administrator named in the notice on your own, never pay a fee to file, and do not give a Social Security number unless the official claim site requires it for that settlement.
What should I paste from an email?
The link address, not the words you see. In an email, right-click (or long-press) the link and choose Copy link address, because the visible text of a link can differ from where it actually goes. Paste one address at a time: if the text contains more than one domain, the checker will not report a match.
What counts as a lookalike?
An address that resembles a verified claim site without being it: letters swapped for digits or characters from another alphabet, the same name with a different ending such as .net, added hyphens or extra words, a one- or two-letter typo, or the real name placed inside a longer address, a path, or a login prefix (real-name.com@other-site.net) that actually leads to a different site.
Is what I paste stored or sent anywhere?
No. The list of official claim sites is loaded with the page and the comparison runs in your browser. We do not send what you paste to our server, log it, save it, or attach it to any analytics event.
Why does a match say the record has not been re-confirmed recently?
Our tracker stops vouching for a record that has gone more than 35 days without someone opening the official source again. The domain may still be right, but we send you to the court docket or the administrator to confirm it rather than lean on an old check.
Sources
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