Discovering that you may have been scammed can leave you with urgent questions. Who should you contact? Can you stop the payment? Where should you report the incident? Our new Fraud Help Portal brings together country-specific guidance to help you understand your next steps.
At VerifiableLetter, our work focuses on making business documents easier to verify. With this new resource, we are extending that effort to help people find practical information when fraud is suspected or has already happened.
Whether you are dealing with a suspicious job offer, an impersonation scam, an unexpected payment request or possible identity theft, having a clear starting point can make the situation easier to navigate.
Why We Created the Fraud Help Portal
After a scam, finding the right information should not create more confusion. A reporting website may serve one country but not another. Your bank may need information that differs from what police require. An identity-protection measure available in one place may work differently elsewhere.
We created the portal to make these next steps easier to find. Instead of expecting visitors to piece together information from unrelated pages, it provides a country-based starting point with links to relevant official resources.
The aim is straightforward: help people move from uncertainty toward informed action, while making it clear which organisations they need to contact directly.
Find Fraud Help for Your Country
The directory currently includes guides for Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, the Republic of Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
You can start with one of these guides:
- Fraud help in Canada
- Fraud help in the United States
- Fraud help in the United Kingdom
- Fraud help in India
For the full selection, browse the country fraud-help directory. Coverage will grow as additional guides are researched and published.
What to Do After a Scam: Where to Begin
Your response will depend on what happened, how you paid and what information you shared. The following steps provide a starting point; use the relevant country guide and official authorities for instructions that apply to your situation.
1. Contact Your Bank or Payment Provider
If you sent money or disclosed payment details, contact the bank or payment service involved promptly. Explain what happened and ask about securing the affected account and whether the payment can be stopped, recalled or disputed. Recovery is not guaranteed.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on what to do if you were scammed explains possible actions for different payment methods and types of compromised information.
2. Keep the Evidence
Preserve relevant emails, messages, receipts, documents and transaction records. Write down what happened while the details are fresh, and keep any report reference numbers together.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s guidance for fraud victims highlights gathering evidence, contacting financial institutions and reporting to police.
3. Secure Affected Accounts
If you shared a password, change it and replace it on any other account where you reused it. Enable two-factor authentication where available. If you have lost access, follow the account provider’s official recovery process.
If identity information was exposed, consult the identity-protection section of your country guide. The appropriate agencies and available credit-protection measures vary by location.
4. Use the Appropriate Reporting Channels
Follow the official reporting links for your country. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to contact local police, a national fraud-reporting service, a cybercrime agency or another relevant authority.
For example, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s reporting instructions recommend contacting local police as well as reporting to the Centre. These routes have different functions, so one report may not replace another.
Be Alert to Fraud-Recovery Scams
Be cautious if someone unexpectedly contacts you claiming they can recover your money, particularly if they demand an advance fee or promise a guaranteed result.
The FTC’s warning about refund and recovery scams explains how fraudsters target people who have already experienced a scam. Verify any organisation independently before sharing information or making another payment.
Why Document Verification Matters
A professional-looking letter can create confidence, but a logo, signature or company letterhead alone does not establish that a document is genuine. Fraudsters can copy these visual elements to impersonate a business.
Our article on company letterhead security and scam prevention explores the risks of letterhead misuse and why businesses should take document authenticity seriously.
If a document claims to have been issued through VerifiableLetter, visit the VerifiableLetter verification portal directly and check its verification details. This service is intended for documents issued through our platform; it does not authenticate every document you might receive.
You can also explore online letterhead versus pre-printed paper letterhead and learn about anti-fraud measures for business communication.
Help Us Keep the Guides Useful
Reporting websites, contact details and procedures can change. If you notice an outdated link, unclear instruction or incorrect detail, use the Report an issue button on the country guide. Select the relevant section, describe the issue and include an official source link if available.
Please use that form for article corrections. To report a crime, contact the appropriate authorities through the official channels listed in your guide.
Visit the Fraud Help Portal
If you or someone you know needs help understanding what to do after a scam, start by selecting the relevant country. You can also bookmark the directory or share the appropriate guide with a friend, family member or colleague.
Visit the VerifiableLetter Fraud Help Portal and find your country guide.
The portal provides general information and is not an emergency service, law-enforcement agency or money-recovery service. It does not replace professional legal or financial advice. If someone is in immediate danger, contact the local emergency service.
