Report a scam

Reporting a scam is important to help stop criminals and to prevent others from falling victim.

Report scams to warn others

Report fraud to your bank or payment provider
If you’ve lost money to a scam and you paid with a credit or debit card, or transferred money from your account, tell your bank or payment provider as soon as possible. Reports of fraud should be investigated quickly and all efforts should be made to recover the money if possible.

Read our guide on how to get your money back from a scam.

Report the scam to Action Fraud and the police
Action Fraud is the fraud and cybercrime reporting centre for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It gathers intelligence on scams and passes it onto the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau for analysis by the police.
You can report any attempt to steal your money or personal information to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or reporting it online.

If you live in Scotland, you can report a scam directly to the police by calling 101.

If your money has been stolen as the result of a scam, you can also report it to the police by calling 101.

You can also report an attempted scam, even if the fraudsters were unsuccessful. Not every report results in a police investigation, but any information you give will help build a clearer picture of how scams work, and who is behind them.

Sign up for scam alerts

Our emails will alert you to scams doing the rounds, and provide practical advice to keep you one step ahead of fraudsters.

How to report a scam

Report the scam

Scam emails should be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will be able to investigate the scam and may be able to prevent other people from being targeted.

You can also report scam emails to the email provider.

On Gmail, click 'Report spam'. Google will receive a copy of the email and may analyse it.
On Outlook, use the 'Phishing' button and block the sender. This will stop you from getting messages from them in the future.
On Yahoo Mail, click 'Spam' and select a reason for reporting the email.

Inform the company

If you've received a fake email claiming to be from a company, it’s worth alerting the company in question.

This could be a bank, government department, utility provider, a shop or a subscription service.

The company can then warn its customers about the scam and take steps to prevent scammers from targeting it in the future.

To report premium rate phone scams, contact the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) to complain about unexpected or expensive fees on your phone bill.

The PSA is the UK regulator for content, goods and services charged to phone bills.

You can call the PSA on 0300 303 0020 or visit its website to report high or malicious charges.

You can report scam calls received on your mobile phone to your provider by texting the word ‘call’ followed by the dubious phone number to 7726 on an iPhone. If you have an Android, text the word ‘call’ to 7726. You’ll then receive a message asking you for the scam number.

You can report scam texts by forwarding the text to 7726.

If you've seen a dodgy advert, or feel you’ve been misled by one, you can report it to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

You can report any kind of mass advertising including ads that appear on television, radio, billboards, websites and social media.

The ASA will investigate and can get scam ads removed. It can also fine companies or individuals that breach its guidelines.

On Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, you can report posts or ads by selecting the three dots in the corner and pressing 'Report'.

If you receive junk mail that you think might be from fraudsters, you can send it to Royal Mail at: Freepost Royal Mail Customer Services.

Royal Mail provides a form that you can use to report scam letters. You can submit this online or send it to Freepost Scam Mail with the letter you received. Reporting scams helps Royal Mail investigate them with the relevant authorities.

Stop scam mail

The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) can remove your name and address from mailing lists. Register for free by calling 020 7291 3310 or visit mpsonline.org.uk.

If you report a scam to your local Citizens Advice, it may be able to offer you practical advice.

Citizens Advice has a strong relationship with Trading Standards. When you report a business you have concerns about, it will pass on information for officers to look into.

Trading Standards officers investigate companies that may be involved in illegal activities, and have powers to take criminal action against fraudulent firms.

Suspicious websites can be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre on its website.

Seen or been affected by a scam? Tell us about it

Sharing details of a scam helps us to protect others as well as inform our scams content, research and policy work. We will collect information about the scam, but we won't be able to identify your responses unless you choose to provide your contact details.

Share scam details

Emotional support after a scam

Being scammed can take a huge toll on your mental health. You might find it helpful to talk to someone about what you’re going through. It’s not your fault, and there are plenty of non-judgemental advice lines you can call who will understand.