Report a scam

If you've been scammed, there are organisations you should report the scam to.

Don't feel embarrassed about reporting a scam – scammers are clever and scams can happen to anyone.

Reporting a scam helps track down and stop scammers. This prevents other people from being scammed.

You should:

• protect yourself from further risks

• gather all the details of the scam

• report the scam to us

• report the scam to other organisations

Protect yourself from further risks

Before you report a scam, there are steps you can take to protect yourself from things getting worse. Check what to do if you've been scammed.

When to call the police

Contact the police immediately by calling 101 if:

• the scammer is in your area

• you've transferred money to the scammer in the last 24 hours

If you feel threatened or unsafe call 999.

Gather all the details of the scam

Write down the details of your scam. This will help you remember all the important information when you report it.

Make sure you include:

• who you've been in contact with – write down names, numbers and addresses if you have them

• why you're suspicious

• what information you've shared – for example, passwords, PINs, or bank details

• whether you've paid any money

• how you've paid – for example, credit card or bank transfer

Report the scam to us

You can either report a scam by:

• using our online form

• contacting our consumer helpline

If you need help you can tell us when you fill in the form, or when you call.

What we'll do when you report a scam to us

Once we've got all the information we need, we'll pass this to Trading Standards. We don't investigate scams ourselves.

Trading Standards gathers information about scams so they can take legal action against scammers.

What Trading Standards does

Trading Standards will decide whether to investigate. They might contact you for more information.

Depending on what they find, they could prosecute the scammers or stop them operating.

Even if Trading Standards don't contact you, they might still use your evidence to take action in the future.

Report the scam to other organisations

You should also report scams to other organisations. This increases the chance of scammers being caught and stopped.

You should report all types of scams to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud.

Action Fraud can get the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau to investigate scams. They'll also give you a crime reference number, which can be helpful if you need to tell your bank you've been scammed. Read our advice on trying to get your money back after a scam.

It's quickest to report a scam to Action Fraud online, but you can also report the scam by phone.

There are other organisations you should report your scam to, depending on what's happened.

If you got a scam email

Forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk. It will go to the National Cyber Security Centre - they might be able to stop other people being scammed.

If you've been scammed through the post

Royal Mail investigates postal scams. If you've received something in the post you think is a scam, send it to 'Freepost Scam Mail'. Include the envelope it came in and a completed scam mail report. You can download a scam mail report from Royal Mail or call them and ask for a form and pre-paid envelope.

If you've seen a scam advert online

You should report an online scam advert to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

You might also be able to report an advert when you see it. For example, Google, Facebook and Instagram let you tell them about scam ads. If you've done this, you can still then report them to the ASA.

If the scam involves financial services

If the scam involves cryptocurrency, investments, insurance or pensions, report it to the Financial Conduct Authority.

If you think you've been scammed into transferring your pension, contact your pension provider immediately. Then get in touch with The Pensions Advisory Service.

If a scammer is imitating a company or person

Contact the real company or person to let them know their name is being falsely used.

A common imitation scam involves emails, texts or calls that seem to be from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). They might tell you about a tax rebate or ask for your personal information. Report HMRC scams.