Where to report a scam in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

If you have lost money to a scam, the first call is to your bank, building society or credit union, not to the police. The Payment Systems Regulator's advice is to contact your bank immediately, as soon as you realise you have fallen victim to a scam¹. Your bank can try to recall the payment, freeze your account against further attempts, and, for certain types of fraud, reimburse you². The police reporting step comes after that, and it matters for the wider fight against fraud, but it does not get your money back.

For the report itself, where you live decides who you contact. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, reports go to Report Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, online at reportfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040³. In Scotland, fraud is reported directly to Police Scotland by calling 101⁴. Report Fraud replaced the old Action Fraud service in December 2025, so if you search for Action Fraud you are looking for the same organisation under a new name⁵.

Tell your bank first if you have lost money

Money that has left an account moves faster than any report can be filed, which is why the official guidance puts the bank first. The Payment Systems Regulator states that as soon as someone realises they have fallen victim to a scam, they should immediately contact their bank to report it¹. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme gives the same message, adding that a bank, building society or credit union can protect and reimburse victims of certain types of fraud². NS&I's security guidance says the same thing: contact your bank immediately if you think you have fallen for a scam, and then report it⁷.

What the bank can do depends on how you paid. If you authorised the payment yourself, for example by making a bank transfer to someone who turned out to be a fraudster, you are in the world of authorised push payment reimbursement, where banks can refund victims who meet the rules. If someone used your card or account without your permission, different protections apply. The dedicated guides to authorised and unauthorised payments and to how bank transfer refunds work explain the difference, and what to do straight away sets out the immediate steps in order.

There is also a clock on the refund side of things, separate from the police report. Under the Payment Systems Regulator's reimbursement rules, consumers who learn or suspect they have fallen victim to an APP scam should report the matter promptly to their payment service provider and, in any event, not more than 13 months after the last relevant payment was authorised⁸. Reporting to the police is still worthwhile after that point, but the refund route narrows.

Report Fraud: the national reporting centre for England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Report Fraud is the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime⁹. It is based within the City of London Police, which acts as the national lead force for fraud, and it replaced Action Fraud in December 2025 as the new national reporting service for cyber crime and fraud⁵. If you see references to Action Fraud, in older advice articles or even in some current official guidance, they mean the same service: the government has confirmed that references to Action Fraud have been updated because the service is now called Report Fraud¹⁰.

The service covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Information Commissioner's Office routes identity theft and fraud reporting there for those three nations¹¹, and The Pensions Regulator tells pension savers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales to report fraud or concerns about a potential scam to Report Fraud¹². The ICO also refers complaints about fraud and scams to Report Fraud¹³. Other types of fraud, such as identity theft, are reported to Report Fraud rather than to specialist bodies, while benefit fraud is reported separately¹⁴.

Reporting to Report Fraud is free, and you do not need to have lost money to make a report. Attempted scams, suspicious contacts and near misses all feed the same intelligence picture. The service does not investigate individual cases in the way a local police officer might, and it does not pay compensation; its role is to collect, analyse and pass on reports so that fraud can be disrupted at scale. That is why the report you make matters even when you think it is small.

In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101

Scotland runs its own arrangement. The National Crime Agency's guidance is direct: in Scotland, report to Police Scotland by calling 101⁴. The ICO says the same: if you live in Scotland or the fraud happened there, contact Police Scotland on 101¹⁵. The House of Commons Library notes that while Report Fraud, based within the City of London Police, is the national reporting centre for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in Scotland frauds are reported directly to Police Scotland¹⁶.

The practical test is where the fraud happened or where you live. If you live in Scotland, or the fraud took place there, 101 is the number, even if the scammer was based elsewhere in the UK or abroad. Consumer advice from Welsh trading standards guidance likewise directs anyone who thinks they have been the victim of a fraud in Scotland to contact Police Scotland by calling 101¹⁷. Which?'s reporting guidance agrees: scams should be reported to Report Fraud, or by calling the police on 101 if you live in Scotland¹⁸.

The Bank of England's summary puts the two routes side by side: call 0300 123 2040 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the phone line typically open Monday to Friday, and if you are in Scotland, report fraud to Police Scotland on 101³. If you are unsure which applies, for example because you live in England but were scammed while dealing with a Scottish address, either route can point you to the right one.

How to make a report online or by phone

There are two ways to reach Report Fraud. The online reporting tool is at reportfraud.police.uk, and the phone line is 0300 123 2040¹⁹. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme gives both routes together with the same number²⁰, and HM Courts and Tribunals Service guidance directs people who receive suspicious calls, emails and texts claiming to come from the courts to report it to Report Fraud online or by telephoning 0300 123 2040²¹. GOV.UK guidance adds that suspicious calls can be reported to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or through the online fraud reporting tool²².

The phone line typically operates Monday to Friday³. Outside those hours, the online tool is the route, and it suits many people better anyway: it walks you through what happened, asks for dates, amounts and any evidence you have, and gives you a record of what you submitted.

A few scams have their own extra reporting routes alongside the general one:

• Northern Ireland benefit and tax texts: nidirect guidance says suspicious emails or text messages asking for bank details can be reported online to Report Fraud or by phone on 0300 123 2040, and that the local Jobs and Benefits office should also be told²³.
• Messages pretending to be from HMRC: HMRC accepts reports of suspicious activity at phishing@hmrc.gov.uk or by text to 60599, and phone scams can be reported online on GOV.UK²⁴. The guide to fake HMRC messages covers how to tell a real one.
• Scam emails generally: these can be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk²⁵.

The order that matters: bank first, then the police report, then the supporting steps.

Before you start, gather what you have: the scammer's contact details, the dates of contact, any payment references, amounts, and screenshots or copies of messages. The Financial Ombudsman's guidance for victims includes keeping records of all contact and correspondence between you and the scammer²⁸. A complete report is easier to analyse and more useful to the intelligence process than a bare assertion that something felt wrong.

What happens after you report

A report to Report Fraud is not the start of a personal investigation, and it helps to know that in advance so the silence afterwards does not feel like neglect. Reports are collected centrally and analysed. The Pensions Regulator has described how this works in one area: every report related to pension fraud is analysed by a TPR analyst embedded in the City of London Police and fed directly into active intelligence work²⁷. The same principle applies across fraud types: individual reports become data, and the data drives action against fraudsters, their accounts and the infrastructure they use, such as the phone numbers and websites behind the scams.

You will not usually be told the outcome of any police work that follows, and most reports do not lead to a visible result for the person who made them. That does not mean the report was wasted. Which? has reported that reports of scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk alone have resulted in the removal of over 250,000 scams¹⁸, a figure that shows how mass reporting translates into takedowns.

The one deadline that matters to a victim sits with the bank, not with the police. Under the Payment Systems Regulator's rules, an APP scam must be reported to the payment provider promptly and in any event within 13 months of the last relevant payment⁸. The police report has no such cut-off, but the refund claim does, which is why the bank is the first call. Where a bank refuses a refund and the customer disagrees, the route is the bank's complaints process and then the Financial Ombudsman, covered in how to complain to your bank and taking a refused refund to the ombudsman.

Report scam emails, texts, calls and letters without losing money

You do not need to have lost anything to report a scam, and attempted scams are worth reporting in their own right. Scam emails can be reported by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk²⁵, and Which? has reported that reports to that address have resulted in the removal of over 250,000 scams¹⁸. Forwarding the email whole, with its headers intact, gives analysts the technical detail they need; do not add commentary or change the subject line.

Scam letters sent by post have a dedicated route. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme advises that if you have received what you think is a scam letter, you report it to Royal Mail via the dedicated scam page on its website²⁰. Trading standards guidance sets out the fuller options: send a "scam mail report" form with the scam mail and the original envelope to Freepost SCAM MAIL, email scam.mail@royalmail.com, or telephone 0800 011 3466, which is a message service only²⁹.

For calls and texts, the general route is Report Fraud: GOV.UK guidance says to report any suspicious calls to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use the online fraud reporting tool²². Suspicious texts can also be forwarded to 7726, your mobile provider's reporting route, as the guide to forwarding suspicious texts to 7726 explains, and the ICO handles nuisance calls and texts as a consumer matter¹³. The wider guide to phishing, vishing and smishing explains what these attacks look like, and stopping nuisance calls and scam mail covers cutting them off at source.

Scams involving investments, pensions or fake firms: telling the FCA

Investment and pension scams have their own reporting layer, because the Financial Conduct Authority polices the firms involved. The House of Commons Library's briefing on pension scams is clear that these scams should be reported to the pension provider, the Financial Conduct Authority, and Action Fraud, the name the service carried when the briefing was written³⁰. In current terms that means your pension provider, the FCA, and Report Fraud.

Before you report, it is worth checking whether the investment and the provider are genuine. The FCA's ScamSmart service lets you check the details of the investment and whether the provider is genuine on the FCA's website²⁰. The guide to the FCA Warning List and ScamSmart explains how that works, and how to check a firm is authorised covers the Financial Services Register. Fraudsters often impersonate real, authorised firms, which is the clone firm trick, so a firm looking legitimate on paper is not the end of the check.

Pension scams deserve particular urgency because the money is hard to recover once moved. The Pensions Regulator urges vigilance and directs savers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales to report fraud or concerns about a potential scam to Report Fraud¹², and its reporting guidance describes how every pension fraud report is analysed by an embedded analyst and fed into active intelligence work²⁷. The Financial Ombudsman has warned savers to keep their pension safe from scammers and to contact the reporting service on 0300 123 2040 if they suspect they have been targeted³¹. The guides to pension liberation and early access offers and recovery room scams cover the two most common patterns.

Reporting anonymously through Crimestoppers

Not everyone wants to give their name. The National Crime Agency notes that you can also report crime anonymously to Crimestoppers online or by calling 0800 555 111⁴. Crimestoppers is independent of the police: it passes information on, but it does not take your details, and the report cannot be traced back to you in the way a direct report can.

This route suits people who have information about who is running a scam, or about a scam targeting their community, but who do not want any involvement beyond passing it on. It does not suit a victim who needs help, because an anonymous report cannot generate a call back, a reference for an insurance claim, or any of the follow-up that comes with a named report. If you have lost money and want a refund from your bank, report in your own name to Report Fraud or Police Scotland as well.

What to do if a scam is happening right now

If the scam is live, for example a caller is on the line, a payment is part-way through, or you are being pressured to act this minute, the order of steps matters. The Financial Ombudsman's guidance for victims sets out the immediate actions: contact your bank or payment services provider immediately, contact the police on 101, report the scam to Report Fraud, and keep records of all contact and correspondence between you and the scammer²⁸.

In practice that means breaking off contact with the scammer first. Hang up, or stop replying, and then call your bank on the number on the back of your card, never on a number the caller provided. The Payment Systems Regulator advises contacting your bank immediately so it can protect your account, and making a report to the national fraud reporting service, particularly if you think you have already been targeted³². If a crime is in progress and someone is at risk, 999 is the emergency number; for fraud that has happened or is unfolding without immediate danger, 101 is the police route in Scotland, and Report Fraud covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland⁴.

The national campaigns behind this advice are covered in Take Five and Stop! Think Fraud: take a moment to verify before you act, and remember that urgency is itself one of the warning signs of a scam.

Where to get support as a scam victim

Being scammed is not only a financial event, and the support available goes beyond the reporting process. Carers UK's guidance for people looking after someone who may be targeted lists the national fraud reporting service on 0300 123 2040 as the route for reports, and its wider advice is aimed at helping people talk about scams rather than hide them³³. The guide to helping an older relative or someone else who has been targeted covers that conversation.

For money that has been lost, the practical routes are your bank first, then its complaints process, then the Financial Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can look at complaints about fraud and scams, including scams involving unauthorised payments and identity theft, and it can consider whether a bank's fraud markers and its handling of your case were fair²⁸. The FSCS's advice for victims is to speak to your bank, building society or credit union, because they can protect and reimburse victims of certain types of fraud, and to report the scam to the national reporting service²⁰.

Two cautions belong here. First, beware of recovery room scams: firms that contact victims offering to recover lost money for a fee are very often the same criminals returning for a second attempt, and the guide to firms that charge to recover scam losses explains the risk. Second, if the scam led to someone using your personal details, the guide to identity theft covers what to do next, including reporting to the ICO's routes for England, Wales and Northern Ireland¹¹ and for Scotland²⁶.