Frequently asked questions

How a location earns its score.

Every place on the SkimGuard safety map carries a rating and a freshness note. Here's exactly what the colors mean, how a location earns each one, and answers to the questions we hear most.

The ratings

Four states, cautious by design.

We're quick to raise a concern and conservative with the all-clear — we'd rather over-warn than miss a skimmer. Each rating is always paired with when the location was last scanned, so it's a time-bound signal, never a permanent guarantee.

Protected Green

A paid business recently scanned this location clean with its own SkimGuard handheld or always-on agent, on a device that scans Bluetooth Classic. The most trusted state — earned by the operator, not the crowd.

Community Verified Blue

Enough different SkimGuard users recently checked this location clean — with enough of them on Classic-capable devices. The highest rating the community can earn on its own.

Caution Amber

Confidence is reduced — a fresh scan is overdue, a monitoring agent went offline, or too few people have checked recently. Worth a second look or a quick re-scan.

Alert Red

A suspicious Bluetooth device was detected here recently. Consider using a different terminal or paying inside until it's verified clean.

Unscanned Grey

No scan on record yet. Be the first to check it — open SkimGuard and scan before you pay.

Quick to raise concern, slow to give the all-clear. Anyone's scan can flag a risk — only a business's own device can grant the green badge.

How it's earned

Who can change a rating.

Not every scan is equal. A scan from a paid business device is authoritative; a scan from a passing phone is a signal that gains weight through corroboration.

Raise a concern

Anyone, instantly

If any scan — yours, a stranger's, or a business's — finds a suspicious device, the location moves to Alert right away. A false alarm just costs a re-scan; a missed skimmer costs a customer their card.

Community all-clear

The crowd, over time

Several different people scanning clean lift a location to blue Community Verified — but never to green. One person scanning over and over counts once, so nobody can self-verify or whitewash a location.

Protected all-clear

The business, immediately

A single clean scan from the location's own SkimGuard handheld or agent earns the green Protected badge — because that device is accountable, tied to the location, and scans the full Bluetooth spectrum.

Common questions

Good to know.

Scan before you pay.

SkimGuard is free. Check the terminal in front of you, and see the safety map around you.

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