Is my ADA website letter a scam?
It's the first thing almost everyone asks. The honest answer: it depends which of three kinds of message you got. Here's how to tell them apart in about 10 minutes.
This is not legal advice. Due Effort isn't a law firm. If you've been served with court papers, talk to a lawyer about your deadline today.
The three kinds of ADA website messages
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A sales email from an "ADA scanner" company
It says an automated scan found problems on your site and offers to sell you the full report, a monitoring plan or a widget. It isn't from a law firm and doesn't name anyone who was harmed.
What it is: marketing. You can ignore it. But it's a fair reminder that your site may have real problems, so check for yourself with a free scan instead of paying a stranger for theirs.
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A demand letter from a real law firm
It comes from a law firm, names a person with a disability (often blind) who says they couldn't use your site, lists problems like missing image descriptions or a checkout they couldn't finish, and asks for money plus changes to your site.
What it is: usually not a scam, even if it feels like one. The federal ADA lets private plaintiffs sue businesses, and a small number of law firms file a large share of these cases. Some states, like California, add money damages. That doesn't mean you owe what they ask, but it does mean you shouldn't ignore it. Read what to do in the first 72 hours.
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A fake that only looks like a law firm
It uses legal language but asks you to pay quickly through an unusual method (gift cards, crypto, a wire to a personal account), pushes you to click a link to "settle online", or comes from a firm or lawyer you can't find anywhere.
What it is: a scam. Don't click, don't pay, and report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
How to check which one you have
- Look up the lawyer. Every state bar has a free online attorney search. Search the lawyer's name from the letter in the state where their office is. A real lawyer will be listed and in good standing.
- Contact the firm using details you find yourself, not the phone number, email or link in the letter.
- Look for a court and case number. If the papers name a court and include a case number, it's a lawsuit. Federal cases are public: search the case number or the firm's name on the free CourtListener archive. Seeing dozens of near-identical cases from the same firm tells you it's real and that it's a volume business, which your lawyer will want to know. Our monthly lawsuit reports list the firms filing the most.
- Check whether the problems are real. Letters usually name specific barriers. Scan the pages they mention and see whether the same kinds of problems show up.
- Watch the payment method. Real firms settle through lawyers and written agreements, not gift cards or crypto.
If it's real: don't panic-pay, don't ignore it
Call your business insurer, then a lawyer who handles ADA Title III website defense. Meanwhile, find out what's actually wrong with your site and keep dated proof of what you fix. Courts have dismissed cases when a business showed its site was already fixed and the plaintiff couldn't rebut it.
Scan my site free Read the 72-hour guide
Need the facts for your lawyer today? The Letter Response Kit scans up to 25 pages and seals the results into a dated evidence pack.
Due Effort is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. Automated scans find only some accessibility problems, so a clean scan doesn't mean a site is compliant.