diff --git a/scripts/download.pl b/scripts/download.pl
index bf9fe8c761..775408934a 100755
--- a/scripts/download.pl
+++ b/scripts/download.pl
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ sub download_cmd($) {
 }
 
 my $hash_cmd = hash_cmd();
+$hash_cmd or die "Cannot find appropriate hash command, ensure the provided hash is either a MD5 or SHA256 checksum.\n";
 
 sub download
 {