How do I tell if a text or email asking me to 'verify my account' is real or a scam?

The urgency itself is usually the biggest tell — real companies rarely need you to act on something in the next ten minutes. 1. Don't click the link. Instead, open your bank's or company's app or website directly, the way you normally would, and check if there's actually anything to verify there. 2. Check the sender address or number carefully, not just the display name — scammers can make the display name say "Chase" or "Amazon" while the actual address is nonsense. 3. Hover over (don't click) any link on desktop to see the real destination URL — on mobile, a long-press often shows it too. A legitimate company's link matches their actual domain, not a lookalike. 4. If you're ever unsure, call the number on the back of your card or on the official site — never a number from the suspicious message itself. A real verification request will still be there, unchanged, if you go find it yourself through the official app instead of the link. If it isn't there, you just confirmed it was fake without giving anything away.