Fraud help in São Tomé and Príncipe: take the first steps
A fake booking, payment request or financial offer in São Tomé and Príncipe can leave you needing both police assistance and help from your payment provider. This fraud help guide for São Tomé and Príncipe 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
Use local police for suspected fraud and the central bank’s consumer-support service for an eligible financial-institution dispute. Start with the official reporting guidance for São Tomé and Príncipe, 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 or urgent emergency assistance is needed, call 113 or 222 22 22 for police. Use the police reporting routes below for non-emergency complaints.
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.
Tell the bank which credentials or identification methods were exposed, whether you installed remote-access software and whether you approved any payment. Ask for a case reference and written instructions. If you disagree with its response, request its formal complaint procedure and the relevant dispute-resolution route.
3. Report the Fraud to Police
Report suspected fraud to local police and ask how to lodge a formal statement. Provide the seller, recruiter or recipient details and any payment records. The linked UK government page gives police emergency contact guidance; it is not an online complaint form. Keep the receiving office’s details and your complaint reference.
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
Report online scams, phishing losses and account impersonation through the local police route. A dedicated public cybercrime submission form has not been confirmed for this guide. Preserve the original messages, website addresses and transaction identifiers, and ask the receiving officer how to provide digital evidence securely. Separately notify the affected bank, wallet provider or platform.
Keep original evidence and use a trusted device to secure affected accounts. Do not send passwords, one-time codes or full payment-card details in an incident report.
5. Protect Your Identity
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.
Report suspected criminal identity misuse to police and list the affected accounts or contracts. Notify the issuer of any compromised digital identity or electronic signature. Keep unfamiliar credit notices and invoices, and dispute fraudulent agreements directly with the organisation concerned.
6. Protect Your Credit
Review unfamiliar loan applications, credit enquiries, invoices and collection letters. Contact the lender and any credit-information provider named in the correspondence, ask for access to the information held about you and dispute inaccurate entries in writing. Keep your police reference and supporting documents. Ask each provider about available fraud alerts or protective measures and their scope. Do not assume that one request freezes every account or removes an existing debt.
7. Consumer-Protection Resources
The central bank’s financial consumer-support service analyses complaints and helps address disputes involving financial institutions. Raise the issue with your provider, then contact the consumer-support office about the appropriate next step. Its official page lists [email protected] for appointments. This financial-service route does not replace a criminal report.
Banco Central de São Tomé e Príncipe: consumer support: https://www.bcstp.st/Container.aspx?x=SwLgBoNpb7IcYkZfC6Zcg&z=wnHDTqJ2vuR6irNM5Tgg
For a purchase dispute, keep the order confirmation, receipts, advertised terms and correspondence. Ask your payment provider about any available dispute or chargeback process without waiting for a regulator’s response. Recovery depends on the circumstances.
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.
Do not receive or forward money through your personal account for an unverified employer. For a claimed job or permit in São Tomé and Príncipe, independently contact the employer and the responsible government authority or consulate. Preserve forged offers and payment requests for police.
Official Contacts and Telephone Numbers
Emergency assistance: 113 or 222 22 22 for police.
Central bank consumer support: [email protected].
Police or formal complaint guidance: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sao-tome-and-principe/getting-help
Cybercrime or technical incident guidance: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sao-tome-and-principe/getting-help
Banco Central de São Tomé e Príncipe: consumer support: https://www.bcstp.st/Container.aspx?x=SwLgBoNpb7IcYkZfC6Zcg&z=wnHDTqJ2vuR6irNM5Tgg
Report the Fraud
Local police in São Tomé and Príncipe
Official Sources
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.