Fraud help in Italy: take the first steps
A fake seller, misleading investment pitch or forged job offer can leave you facing both financial loss and uncertainty. This fraud help guide for Italy brings together practical steps and official resources so you can decide whom to contact and what information to prepare.
Start with the most immediate risk. If money or bank access is involved, contact your bank promptly. Keep the original messages and documents, and write down what happened while it is fresh in your mind. You can ask for help before you have gathered every piece of evidence.
Use the right reporting service
Police complaints, bank disputes and consumer reports serve different purposes. Where an online pre-complaint is available, the required follow-up at a police office still matters. Start with Polizia di Stato’s reporting guidance, then follow the relevant sections below for banking, identity protection and consumer complaints. Keep copies of reports and reference numbers so you can follow up consistently.
Check suspicious letters and payment requests
A real company name, familiar logo or official-looking document is not enough to establish authenticity. Read our guide to company letterhead security and impersonation scams, and learn how secure business communication can help organisations make correspondence easier to verify.
Contact the claimed sender through details you find independently before taking further action. Be cautious of unsolicited recovery offers that demand an advance payment or promise guaranteed results. For incidents involving another jurisdiction, visit the country-by-country Fraud Help directory.
1. Stop Further Losses
If someone is in immediate danger, call 112. Use local police contact channels for non-emergency reporting.
Stop communicating with the suspected scammer and do not send more money. Contact your bank immediately if money, card details or account access are involved. Save messages, payment records and suspicious documents. If someone has remote access to your device, disconnect it from the internet and contact your bank from another trusted device.
2. Contact Your Bank or Payment Provider
Use your bank’s official app or a trusted telephone number. Explain whether a payment was unauthorised or you were deceived into approving it. Ask about securing cards and online banking, tracing transactions and any available recall or dispute process. Keep a written record of your notification and the bank’s response. Do not send money to a caller’s supposed “safe account”. Recovery depends on the circumstances and is not guaranteed.
Banca d’Italia explains that a bank cannot require a police complaint as a prerequisite to starting an unauthorised-payment claim, although it may request it later. Report the suspected crime separately. If dissatisfied with the bank’s response, consult Banca d’Italia’s consumer guidance about complaints and the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario (ABF): https://www.bancaditalia.it/servizi-cittadino/index.html
3. Report the Fraud to Police
You can report suspected fraud at a Polizia di Stato office or Carabinieri station. Ask the receiving officer which formal complaint procedure applies and whether any deadline requires prompt action.
Italy’s Denunce online service accepts pre-complaints for listed offences, including fraud and certain computer-related offences. Check current eligibility and territorial availability. A pre-complaint must be formalised at a police office within the following 48 hours, using the appointment process on the portal. Do not treat online submission as the completed complaint.
Portal: https://denunceonline.poliziadistato.it/
Prepare a short timeline, payment records, recipient account details, original messages, website addresses and copies of suspicious documents. Explain how the contact began and what money or information you shared. Keep the complaint reference and any instructions for providing additional evidence.
4. Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud
Polizia Postale is a specialist police service dealing with online crime. Its official portal provides information and contact routes. For a criminal complaint, follow the police’s formal reporting instructions; an information request or general website report is not necessarily a completed complaint.
For online shopping scams, account intrusions or payment-card misuse, preserve messages, URLs, account names and transaction references. Ask the police which evidence they need and how to deliver original files. If the online service is unavailable or your case is not eligible, contact a police office in person.
5. Protect Your Identity
Report suspected identity misuse to police, including any accounts, contracts or documents created in your name.
Notify every bank, lender, telecom provider or online platform where your identity was misused. Dispute unfamiliar accounts or debts in writing and keep the replies. Change compromised passwords from a trusted device, secure your email first and enable two-factor authentication. If an identity document is lost or stolen, contact its issuing authority about reporting, blocking or replacement.
6. Protect Your Credit
You can request your own Centrale dei Rischi information from Banca d’Italia free of charge through its official access service: https://www.bancaditalia.it/servizi-cittadino/servizi/accesso-cr/index.html
Review reported credit information and ask the reporting institution to investigate anything unfamiliar or inaccurate. The register has reporting rules and thresholds; it is not a complete inventory of every account or possible identity misuse. Requesting the report does not freeze your credit. Continue monitoring statements and invoices.
7. Consumer-Protection Resources
AGCM accepts reports of unfair commercial practices and misleading advertising: https://www.agcm.it/competenze/tutela-del-consumatore/come-segnalare
Use the consumer reporting route for relevant business conduct, while separately reporting suspected crimes to police. Regulatory reporting should not be treated as a personal refund request. Contact the merchant or marketplace and your payment provider about any applicable dispute process; preserve receipts and correspondence.
8. Employment and Immigration Fraud
Verify the employer through independently sourced contact details. Keep the job advertisement, offer letter, recruiter messages and payment requests. Report fraudulent adverts to the hosting platform. If you paid money or shared identity documents, contact your bank and police and follow the identity-protection steps above. For immigration claims, confirm the procedure and official fees with the responsible authority or consulate; a professional-looking letter does not prove that it is genuine.
Official Contacts and Telephone Numbers
Emergency assistance: 112.
Polizia di Stato: https://www.poliziadistato.it/
Online pre-complaint information: https://poliziadistato.it/articolo/denunce-online
Polizia Postale portal: https://www.commissariatodips.it/
Banking consumer services: https://www.bancaditalia.it/servizi-cittadino/index.html
AGCM consumer reports: https://www.agcm.it/competenze/tutela-del-consumatore/come-segnalare
Report the Fraud
Polizia di Stato or Carabinieri; Polizia Postale for online crime
Official Sources
- Polizia di Stato: emergency and fraud advice
- Polizia di Stato: online pre-complaints
- Ministry of the Interior: online service and formalisation
- Polizia Postale: fraud prevention guide
- Banca d’Italia: unauthorised payments
- Banca d’Italia: Central Credit Register access
- Banca d’Italia: consumer services
- AGCM: report unfair commercial practices
Received a suspicious business document?
Check whether a document issued through VerifiableLetter is authentic.
Important: This guide provides general information, not legal, financial or emergency advice. Procedures and contact details can change. Confirm requirements with the relevant authority. Reporting does not guarantee investigation, reimbursement or recovery.