Fraud can happen through bank-transfer scams, identity theft, phishing messages, fake investments, online shopping scams, romance fraud, forged business correspondence, or fraudulent job and visa offers. If you believe you have been defrauded in the United Kingdom, act quickly: stop communicating with the suspected fraudster, do not send additional money, contact your bank, secure compromised accounts, preserve the evidence, and report the incident through the appropriate official service.
Fraudsters frequently make messages and documents appear to come from legitimate companies, government departments, banks, employers, or professional advisers. They may copy logos, email signatures, invoices, employee names, and official-looking letterheads. Understanding how scammers imitate legitimate business communications and the risks associated with company letterhead misuse can help you identify warning signs before sending money or personal information.
Be especially cautious when a message creates urgency, requests secrecy, asks you to move money to a “safe account,” or demands payment by cryptocurrency, gift card, cash, or money transfer. A professional-looking PDF, job offer, certificate, invoice, or company logo does not prove authenticity. Learning how secure document authentication works can help recipients distinguish genuine correspondence from forged or altered documents.
Before responding to an important request, contact the organization using a telephone number or website you independently verify. Do not rely on contact information contained in a suspicious message. If you have already lost money or disclosed sensitive information, follow the reporting and recovery steps below. Be alert for recovery scams in which someone promises to retrieve your money in exchange for an advance fee.
1. Stop Further Losses
1. Stop communicating with the suspected fraudster and do not send any additional money.
2. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or a crime is currently taking place, call 999.
3. Contact your bank, card issuer or payment provider immediately using the number printed on your card, statement or official website. Ask whether payments can be stopped, recalled or disputed.
4. If login details or security codes were disclosed, change the affected passwords immediately. Use a trusted device, choose unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication.
5. Preserve all evidence, including emails, text messages, letters, envelopes, screenshots, website addresses, phone numbers, usernames, receipts, bank records, cryptocurrency wallet addresses and transaction details.
6. Do not delete accounts, messages or documents until you have saved copies. Record the dates and times of all communications.
7. Report fraud and cybercrime to Report Fraud if you are in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. In Scotland, report the matter directly to Police Scotland by calling 101.
8. Ignore anyone who unexpectedly offers to recover your money for an advance fee. Fraud victims are frequently targeted by recovery scams.
2. Contact Your Bank or Payment Provider
Contact your bank, building society, card issuer or payment provider immediately using a trusted telephone number from your card, statement or the provider’s official website.
Explain that you are a victim of fraud and ask the provider to:
• stop or recall pending transfers where possible;
• block affected cards and accounts;
• cancel compromised payment instructions;
• secure online and telephone banking access;
• dispute unauthorized card or account transactions;
• trace the receiving account where possible;
• confirm whether chargeback, Section 75 protection or current authorised push payment fraud reimbursement rules may apply; and
• provide a written complaint reference.
Do not call a telephone number supplied by the suspected fraudster. If someone claiming to be from your bank asks you to move money into a “safe account,” end the call and contact your bank independently.
Review recent transactions and connected payment services for further unauthorized activity. If your bank does not handle your complaint satisfactorily, follow its formal complaints process and then consider contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service.
3. Report the Fraud to Police
Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger or if a crime is taking place.
For non-emergency police assistance, call 101.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Most fraud and cybercrime should be reported through Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/ or by calling 0300 123 2040. If the crime is happening now, there is an immediate threat, or police action is urgently required, contact the local police through 999 or 101.
Scotland: Report fraud and financial crime directly to Police Scotland by calling 101. Non-urgent incidents may also be submitted through Police Scotland’s online reporting service.
When reporting, provide dates, payment information, bank details, communication records, names used by the suspected fraudster, telephone numbers, email addresses, website addresses and any available screenshots or documents.
Ask for and retain your crime or incident reference number.
4. Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud
England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Report cybercrime through Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/ or call 0300 123 2040.
Scotland: Report cybercrime and fraud to Police Scotland by calling 101. Call 999 if there is a threat to life or critical infrastructure.
If a business, charity or organization is experiencing an active cyberattack, call Report Fraud immediately on 0300 123 2040 and follow National Cyber Security Centre incident-response guidance.
Forward suspicious emails to [email protected].
Forward suspicious text messages to 7726. This is free with most UK mobile providers.
Report suspicious or fraudulent websites to the National Cyber Security Centre:
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-website
If an account was compromised, change its password from a trusted device, sign out other sessions, enable two-factor authentication and check whether recovery information or forwarding rules were changed.
Preserve suspicious emails, including their headers where possible, and save screenshots, website addresses, malware alerts and relevant system logs.
5. Protect Your Identity
Change passwords for affected email, banking, social-media, shopping and government accounts. Use a different, strong password for each account and enable two-factor authentication.
Start with your email account because it may be used to reset passwords for other services. Review recovery addresses, forwarding rules, connected applications and active login sessions.
Contact any bank, lender, mobile provider or other organization where an unauthorized account or transaction appears in your name.
Report fraudulent activity to the appropriate police reporting service and keep the crime reference number.
If a passport, driving licence or other identity document has been lost, stolen or copied, contact the issuing authority and follow its replacement or cancellation procedure.
Check your credit reports for accounts, searches, addresses or financial associations you do not recognize.
Consider Cifas Protective Registration if your personal information has been stolen or exposed. This places a warning against your identity so participating organizations carry out additional checks. The service may involve a fee and can make legitimate applications take longer.
Remain alert for follow-up calls, password-reset messages and recovery scams.
6. Protect Your Credit
Check your credit history with all three main UK credit reference agencies because the information held by each agency may differ.
Experian statutory credit report:
https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html
Equifax statutory credit report:
https://www.equifax.co.uk/products/credit/statutory-report
TransUnion statutory credit report:
https://www.transunion.co.uk/consumer/statutory-credit-report
Review each report for unfamiliar accounts, applications, credit searches, addresses and financial associations.
If you discover incorrect or fraudulent information, contact the relevant lender and credit reference agency immediately. Request that the information be investigated and corrected, and retain copies of your correspondence.
Continue monitoring your reports because fraudulent applications may appear after the original incident.
7. Consumer-Protection Resources
England and Wales:
Contact the Citizens Advice consumer service for help with scams, consumer disputes and referrals to Trading Standards.
Website:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/reporting-a-scam/
Telephone: 0808 223 1133
Welsh-language service: 0808 223 1144
Scotland:
Contact Advice Direct Scotland for consumer and scam advice.
Website:
https://consumeradvice.scot/
Consumer scam advice: 0808 164 6000
Northern Ireland:
Contact Consumerline for consumer complaints, fraud reports and advice.
Website:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/contact-consumerline-make-complaint-or-ask-advice
Telephone: 0300 123 6262
For financial-service or investment scams, check whether the business is authorized using the FCA Firm Checker and report suspicious firms to the Financial Conduct Authority:
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/report-scam
8. Employment and Immigration Fraud
Be cautious of unexpected job offers, especially when no interview took place or the sender demands payment for recruitment, training, equipment, accommodation, work permits or visa processing.
Verify the employer independently using its official website and publicly listed telephone number. Do not use the contact information contained only in the job offer.
For sponsored employment, check whether the organization appears on the official Register of Licensed Sponsors:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers
A Skilled Worker applicant normally needs a job offer from an approved UK employer. Sponsorship does not guarantee that a visa will be issued.
Apply for visas and pay government fees only through official GOV.UK services. UK Visas and Immigration does not guarantee employment, and there are no unofficial shortcuts to obtaining a UK work visa.
Report fraudulent job offers, visa demands and immigration scams through Report Fraud:
https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/
Official visa and immigration scam guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing/report-visa-and-immigration-scams
Preserve the job advertisement, offer letter, employment contract, email headers, payment instructions, telephone numbers and copies of any identity documents supplied.
Official Contacts and Telephone Numbers
Emergency police, ambulance or fire: 999
Police non-emergency: 101
Report Fraud – England, Wales and Northern Ireland:
0300 123 2040
Report Fraud from outside the UK:
+44 300 123 2040
Police Scotland fraud reporting:
101
Suspicious emails:
[email protected]
Suspicious text messages:
Forward to 7726
Citizens Advice consumer helpline:
0808 223 1133
Citizens Advice Welsh-language service:
0808 223 1144
Advice Direct Scotland scam and consumer advice:
0808 164 6000
Consumerline Northern Ireland:
0300 123 6262
Victim Support – England and Wales:
0808 16 89 111
Report the Fraud
Report Fraud – City of London Police
Official Sources
- Report Fraud
- Report Fraud – Reporting Cybercrime and Fraud
- GOV.UK – Report a Crime
- Police Scotland – Scams and Frauds
- Police Scotland – Online Reporting
- National Cyber Security Centre – Phishing Scams
- National Cyber Security Centre – Report a Scam Website
- Financial Conduct Authority – Fraudulent Payments
- Financial Conduct Authority – Report a Scam
- GOV.UK – Consumer Advice
- Citizens Advice – Report a Scam
- GOV.UK – Visa and Immigration Scams
- GOV.UK – Register of Licensed Sponsors
- ICO – Credit Reference Agencies
- Cifas – Protective Registration
Received a suspicious business document?
Check whether a document issued through VerifiableLetter is authentic.
Important: This guide provides general information and is not legal, financial or emergency advice. Fraud-reporting arrangements differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Confirm current instructions directly with the relevant authority before acting. Never send money or disclose security information to someone who contacts you unexpectedly and claims they can recover fraud losses.