📋 How to Report a Scam in the UK — Step by Step
📋 Quick Answer: Report scams to Action Fraud (0300 123 2040 or actionfraud.police.uk). For phishing emails, forward to [email protected]. For scam texts, forward to 7726. If money's gone, call your bank's fraud team first — before anything else.
If you think you've just been scammed, take a breath. You have not done anything stupid — these scams are built to work, and they work on careful people every day. What matters now is order and speed: do the right things, in the right sequence, and keep a record of everything as you go.
This is the complete UK reporting guide: what to do in the first hour, exactly who to report to and in what order, what each organisation actually does with your report, and what you get back.
What to do in the first hour
Work down this list in order. Don't try to do everything at once — just start at the top.
- If money has moved, call your bank's fraud team immediately. Not tomorrow, not after you've finished reading. Ask them to freeze the account and attempt to recall the payment. This is the single most time-critical step.
- If you gave away a password or PIN, change it now — and change it anywhere else you reused it.
- Stop all contact with the scammer. Don't call back, don't pay any "release fee" or "tax" to unlock your money, and don't accept a refund they offer you.
- Don't delete anything. Every email, text, screenshot, bank statement and phone number is evidence — even the ones that make you angry.
- Report it. Action Fraud for fraud and cyber crime; the police if a crime is in progress or you've been threatened.
⚠️ If you're unsure whether what happened is a scam, start with our What to Do If You've Been Scammed — Emergency Checklist for immediate first steps, then come back here to report it.
Who to report to — and in what order
| What happened | Who to tell first | What you get back |
|---|---|---|
| Money taken, transferred or paid to a scammer | Your bank's fraud team | A bank case reference; a recall attempt on the payment |
| Fraud or cyber crime (phone, online, investment, shopping, romance) | Action Fraud — 0300 123 2040 | An Action Fraud reference number |
| A phishing email | [email protected] (NCSC) | No personal reference — it feeds national blocking |
| A scam text message | Forward to 7726 | No personal reference — the number can be blocked |
| Nuisance or scam phone calls | Ofcom | No personal reference — national nuisance-call reporting |
| A crime in progress, threats or violence | 999 | A crime reference number from the police |
| A non-urgent crime (already reported, no danger) | 101 or your force's online form | A crime reference number |
| A pension scam | Your pension provider and The Pensions Regulator | A case reference from the provider |
| A rogue trader or misleading sales | Citizens Advice (passed to Trading Standards) | Recorded intelligence |
1. Report to Action Fraud (National Reporting Centre)
Action Fraud is the UK's central reporting hub for fraud and cyber crime. It's run by the City of London Police and handles reports from individuals and businesses.
How to report:
- Visit the Action Fraud website at actionfraud.police.uk
- Call 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm)
- Use their online reporting tool — it takes around 20 minutes
What you'll need:
- Your personal details (name, address, date of birth)
- Details of the scam (dates, amounts, how you were contacted)
- Any evidence — emails, screenshots, bank statements, text messages
- The scammer's details if you have them (phone number, email, bank sort code)
What you get back: a reference number. Action Fraud references are different from police crime reference numbers — see Crime Reference Number UK: Check & Verify Yours for what yours looks like and how to quote it later.
What Action Fraud is not: it is a reporting and intelligence centre, not an emergency service. Officers don't attend, and not every report is investigated individually. But every report is logged, and the pattern matters — that's how operations get built against the people running these scams.
Helping someone else report? Work through the same order — bank first if money has moved, then Action Fraud — and keep copies of everything you send on their behalf.
2. Contact Your Bank Immediately
If money has been taken from your account or you've transferred funds to a scammer, time is everything. Call your bank's fraud department straight away.
Under the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, most UK banks must reimburse victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams, provided you acted without gross negligence.
What to say:
- "I believe I've been a victim of a scam and need to report it urgently"
- Give them the crime reference number from Action Fraud
- Ask them to freeze your account and recall any transferred funds
Most major UK banks — including Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, and Monzo — have 24/7 fraud hotlines.
If the bank says no: you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service — a free, independent service that settles disputes between consumers and financial businesses. Our guide to getting your money back after a scam walks through the escalation step by step.
3. Report Phishing Emails and Texts
If you've received a suspicious message but haven't lost money, you should still report it. These reports help law enforcement track down scam operations.
To report a phishing email: Forward it to [email protected] (run by the National Cyber Security Centre).
To report a scam text: Forward it to 7726 (free on all UK networks). The word "7726" spells "SPAM" on a phone keypad. Your mobile provider will investigate and block the number if it's malicious.
To report nuisance or scam calls: Report scam calls and nuisance numbers at ofcom.org.uk.
It takes under a minute, and it's the cheapest thing you can do to stop the same message reaching someone who is more vulnerable than you.
4. Report to the Police (for Crimes in Progress)
If a scammer is at your door, or you're being threatened, call 999 immediately.
For non-urgent scams involving violence, threats, or organised crime, call 101 or contact your local police force's fraud team. Most forces also let you report a crime online — it's free, and you get your reference number straight away.
- Police 101 Number UK: When to Call It & What It Costs — when 101 is right, when it isn't, and how to report online instead
- Police 101 Numbers by Area — the non-emergency number for every UK force
- What Happens After You Report a Crime — what the police do with your report, and when
- Report a Crime Anonymously in the UK — including Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, if you don't want to give your name
5. Additional Places to Report Scams
- Citizens Advice: Report a scam online via citizensadvice.org.uk — they pass information to Trading Standards
- Ofcom: Report scam calls and nuisance numbers at ofcom.org.uk
- Your pension provider: If the scam involves pensions, contact The Pensions Regulator
- Known scam types explained — recognise phishing, romance scams, holiday fraud, and more
- CyberAware UK: If you've shared sensitive data (passwords, personal details), we recommend checking with CyberAware UK's dark web monitoring service to see if your information is being traded online
What each body actually does with your report
Knowing who does what stops you waiting for a call that was never coming.
| Organisation | What they do | What they don't do |
|---|---|---|
| Action Fraud | Logs your report, issues a reference number, assesses it and shares intelligence | Attend incidents or investigate every single report itself |
| National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) | Analyses reports for patterns and links, and refers cases to forces to investigate | Contact you directly about most reports |
| National Crime Agency (NCA) | Handles the most serious and organised fraud and cyber crime | Deal with everyday consumer scams |
| Your bank | Freezes accounts, attempts recalls, investigates the payment, decides on reimbursement | Recover money that has already left the banking system |
| Your local police force | Investigates crime in your area and issues crime reference numbers | Investigate national or cross-border fraud themselves |
| National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) | Uses phishing reports to block and take down malicious sites and addresses | Respond to you individually about a report |
| Ofcom | Tracks nuisance and scam calling patterns across networks | Investigate individual scams |
| Trading Standards | Acts on rogue traders and misleading sales intelligence passed by Citizens Advice | Recover your money |
Keep Records of Everything
From the moment you suspect a scam, start keeping a written log. Save emails, screenshot texts, note dates and times of phone calls, and write down the names of anyone you speak to. This paper trail is invaluable if you need to claim compensation or support a police investigation.
A simple way to do it: one note on your phone or a sheet of paper with four columns — date, who you spoke to, what was said, reference number. Add a line after every call. When a bank or an insurer asks you to prove what happened and when, you'll already have it.
What Happens After You Report?
Action Fraud reviews every report. Some cases are passed to local police forces or the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) for investigation. High-value or complex cases involving organised crime may be escalated to the National Crime Agency.
While not every report leads to an arrest, each one adds to the intelligence picture. Your report could help prevent someone else from being scammed.
The honest expectation: many fraud reports are not investigated individually, and you may not hear anything further. That is not a reason to skip reporting. Your reference number is what unlocks your bank claim, your insurance claim, and any later complaint — and your report is one data point in the picture that eventually closes these operations down.
If you're not sure whether it was a scam
Report it anyway. You don't have to be certain, and you don't have to have lost money. The signs that you should report something:
- You were contacted out of the blue and pressured to act quickly
- You were asked to pay by bank transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency
- Someone asked for a code sent to your phone, or for remote access to your computer
- A "refund", "prize" or "investment" needed a payment or your card details first
- You were told to keep it secret, or that you'd be in trouble if you told anyone
If any of those sound familiar, work through this page from the top. Even if nothing was taken, reporting it is worth the ten minutes.
Need more help?
- What to do if you've been scammed — the emergency checklist for the first hour
- How to get your money back after a scam — chargebacks, bank claims and the Ombudsman
- Crime Reference Number UK: Check & Verify Yours — what your reference means and how to use it
- Report a crime to the police — our step-by-step guide
- Report a crime anonymously in the UK
- What happens after you report a crime
- Police 101 Number UK: When to Call It & What It Costs
- TV Licence scam emails — how to spot fake TV Licensing emails and texts
- Bank transfer scam victim — what to do — step-by-step recovery after paying a scammer by bank transfer
- I gave my bank details to a scammer — what to do first, how scammers use your details, credit file checks
- Someone called pretending to be my bank — how to verify the call and what to do if you shared details
Need help? If you're unsure whether you've been scammed or what to do next, visit the CyberAware UK website for free resources and guidance on scam recovery. You can also use our Scam Recovery Quick-Reference Card for a printable version of these steps.
Prevention first? See the UK Scam & Phishing Prevention Guide: 2026 Edition — the plain-English 2026 guide to spotting phishing texts and emails, the top scams targeting UK families, and the five habits that block most attacks.
CyberAware UK — helping families report crime, recover from scams, and stay safe online.